Helicopter Flight Dynamics, Second Edition

The behavior of helicopters is so complex that understanding the physical mechanisms at work in trim, stability, and response, and thus the prediction of flying qualities, requires a framework of analytical and numerical modeling and simulation. Good flying qualities are vital for ensuring that mission performance is achievable with safety, and in the first edition of Helicopter Flight Dynamics, a comprehensive treatment of design criteria was presented. In this second edition, the author adds a new chapter on degraded flying qualities, drawing examples from flight in poor visibility, failure of control functions, and encounters with severe atmospheric disturbances. Fully embracing the consequences of degraded flying qualities during the design phase will contribute positively to safety.

The accurate prediction and assessment of flying qualities draws on modeling and simulation discipline on the one hand and testing methodologies on the other. Checking predictions in flight requires clearly defined mission-task-elements, derived from missions with realistic performance requirements. High-fidelity simulations also form the basis for the design of stability and control augmentation systems, essential for conferring level one flying qualities. The book's integrated description of flight dynamic modeling, simulation, and flying qualities will be of interest to engineers in research laboratories and manufacturing industry, test pilots, and flight test engineers, and make it a useful reference for graduate and postgraduate students in aerospace engineering.

Copublished with Blackwell Science Ltd. Outside the United States and Canada, order from Blackwell Science Ltd., United Kingdom, tel +44 1865 206 206.

The behavior of helicopters is so complex that understanding the physical mechanisms at work in trim, stability, and response, and thus the prediction of flying qualities, requires a framework of analytical and numerical modeling and simulation. Good flying qualities are vital for ensuring that mission performance is achievable with safety, and in the first edition of Helicopter Flight Dynamics, a comprehensive treatment of design criteria was presented. In this second edition, the author adds a new chapter on degraded flying qualities, drawing examples from flight in poor visibility, failure of control functions, and encounters with severe atmospheric disturbances. Fully embracing the consequences of degraded flying qualities during the design phase will contribute positively to safety.

The accurate prediction and assessment of flying qualities draws on modeling and simulation discipline on the one hand and testing methodologies on the other. Checking predictions in flight requires clearly defined mission-task-elements, derived from missions with realistic performance requirements. High-fidelity simulations also form the basis for the design of stability and control augmentation systems, essential for conferring level one flying qualities. The book's integrated description of flight dynamic modeling, simulation, and flying qualities will be of interest to engineers in research laboratories and manufacturing industry, test pilots, and flight test engineers, and make it a useful reference for graduate and postgraduate students in aerospace engineering.

Copublished with Blackwell Science Ltd. Outside the United States and Canada, order from Blackwell Science Ltd., United Kingdom, tel +44 1865 206 206.

GARETH PADFIELD, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, is the Bibby Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Liverpool. He is an aeronautical engineer by training and has spent his career to date researching the theory and practice of flight for both fixed-wing airplanes and rotorcraft. During his years with the U.K.'s Royal Aircraft Establishment and Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, he conducted research into rotorcraft dynamics, handling qualities, and flight control. His work has involved a mix of flight testing, creating and testing simulation models, and developing analytic approximations to describe flight behavior and handling qualities. Much of his research has been conducted in the context of international collaboration: with the Technical Co-operation Programme, AGARD, and GARTEUR, as well as more informal collaborations with industry, universities, and research centers worldwide. He is very aware that many accomplishments, including this book, could not have been achieved without the global networking that aerospace research affords. During the last eight years as an academic, the author has continued to develop his knowledge and understanding in flight dynamics, not only through research, but also through teaching the subject at undergraduate level, an experience that affords a new and deeper kind of learning that, hopefully, readers of this book will benefit from.