Introduction to Helicopter and Tiltrotor Flight Simulation

While many available texts cover some aspect of simulation, this book is unique in that it brings all the tools required to write a flight simulation mathematical model together in one reference. A perfect reference guide, the book follows a logical build-up to a complete aircraft model. It begins with a discussion of the types of flight simulation that are possible. From there, chapters are dedicated to vectors, vector resolution, and the many axis systems used in helicopter analysis. A brief chapter on atmospheric modeling precedes a critical section devoted to the importance of establishing the distinction between inertial velocity, wash velocity, and aerodynamic velocity. After these chapters have built the foundation for aerodynamics and dynamics, the rotorcraft is modeled from simple components up to more complex systems with chapters dedicated to fuselage, wings, propellers, rotors, engines, drive systems, landing gear, controls, and aerodynamic coupling. The final chapters describe overall organization and informational flow, and methods to trim the aircraft to initial states.

In all, the book encompasses 18 chapters and 12 appendices along with accompanying problem sets, a solutions manual, and demonstration programs on a CD-ROM. The demonstration programs, written in Visual Basic, serve as a tie-in between chapters and offer a real asset to the reader.

While many available texts cover some aspect of simulation, this book is unique in that it brings all the tools required to write a flight simulation mathematical model together in one reference. A perfect reference guide, the book follows a logical build-up to a complete aircraft model. It begins with a discussion of the types of flight simulation that are possible. From there, chapters are dedicated to vectors, vector resolution, and the many axis systems used in helicopter analysis. A brief chapter on atmospheric modeling precedes a critical section devoted to the importance of establishing the distinction between inertial velocity, wash velocity, and aerodynamic velocity. After these chapters have built the foundation for aerodynamics and dynamics, the rotorcraft is modeled from simple components up to more complex systems with chapters dedicated to fuselage, wings, propellers, rotors, engines, drive systems, landing gear, controls, and aerodynamic coupling. The final chapters describe overall organization and informational flow, and methods to trim the aircraft to initial states.

In all, the book encompasses 18 chapters and 12 appendices along with accompanying problem sets, a solutions manual, and demonstration programs on a CD-ROM. The demonstration programs, written in Visual Basic, serve as a tie-in between chapters and offer a real asset to the reader.

Mark E. Dreier holds a B.S. and a M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. Dreier is currently a staff engineer in the simulation group at Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. He is also an adjunct lecturer at the University of Texas at Arlington and an invited lecturer for short courses at Penn State. In his thirty plus years of experience, he has worked on digital, analogue, and hybrid simulations of helicopters, tiltrotors, and wind turbines. He has written many technical papers on simulation and presented many lectures on soft computing. He is the author of the Fuzzy Logic Development Kit (FULDEK.) Dreier is a senior member of the AIAA and the American Helicopter Society, and is a licensed pilot who enjoys introducing his students to real flight.