Flight Theory and Aerodynamics: A Practical Guide for Operational Safety - Rilegato

About the author Charles E. Dole is a Professor of Safety Technology at the University of Southern California. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1942 to 1963, and has forty years of pilot experience, with over 4,000 flight hours in commercial and military flying of helicopters, bombers, and jet fighters. He has taught U.S. Air Force Flying Safety Officer Courses and Allied Flight Safety Officer Courses since 1963. He has also taught courses in engineering for aerospace management, and in chemistry and physics of aircraft and missile propellants at Air Force bases in Hawaii, Germany, and Spain. Dr. Dole received his Ed.D. from the University of Southern California in 1971. He holds an M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Navy Postgraduate School, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Drexel Institute of Technology. He is the author of Mathematics and Physics for Aviation Personnel (1973), the current text used in Safety Officer classes.

This basic text in aeronautics for students of aviation safety approaches the subject from the pilots rather than the engineers viewpoint, unlike most other books in the field. It explains, as simply as possible, the theory and practical application of aeronautical principles in terms that both professional and non-professional pilots can readily understand. The mathematics is restricted to the level of high school algebra and trigonometry, and is kept to the minimum required to illustrate applications of the basic concepts presented. The author has drawn his material from courses he has taught in Flying Safety over the past eighteen years. He has taught thousands of Air Force, Army, Navy and many foreign Air Force pilots. The vast majority of these students did not have an engineering background. The first two chapters cover the basic concepts of aerodynamic principles and the construction of the thrust-required curves. Chapter 3 expands these basic principles and applies them to both thrust-producing and power-producing aircraft. The causes of many slow-speed aircraft accidents are discussed in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 discusses the problems of takeoffs and landings and the accelerations encountered during these phases of flight. Chapter 6 covers maneuvering flight. Chapter 7 explores high-speed flight in the transonic and supersonic speed regions. Static and dynamic stability and control of aircraft are analyzed in Chapter 8. There are problems at the end of each chapter, with answers given at the back of the book. The basic philosophy underlying this clear text can be stated as follows: "Any well-coordinated, intelligent person can be taught to fly an airplanebut a basic understanding of the aerodynamic principles involved will help the pilot to be a safer operator and help avoid the pitfalls that often lead to disaster." To this end, the author applies the understanding method rather than the do-it-this-way-because-I-say-so method of learning that is so often used in flight training. Flight Theory and Aerodynamics is currently used as the basic text for the USAF Flying Safety Officer courses. It can be used by the U.S.N. Aviation Safety Officer course, the USAAAs Aviation Safety Officer course, and as a text for professional pilots and flying safety personnel. By promoting a better understanding of technical problems, aviation mishaps can be reduced. Any competent instructor, with the aid of Charles E. Doles book, should be able to design a course in basic aerodynamics that requires from 8 to 40 (present USAF requirement) classroom hours of instruction.