DESIGN FOR AIR COMBAT (Discusses the shape and aerodynamic design of combat aircraft)
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Characteristics
| ISBN-13 | 9780710604262 |
| ISBN-10 | 0710604262 |
| Book cover finish(es) | Hardcover ( square back binding ) & Dust jacket |
| Condition | Like NEW |
| Author(s) | Ray Whitford |
| Publisher | Jane's Publishing Company Limited |
| Number of pages | 19.5 x 25 x 2 cm |
| Published date | 1987 |
| Language(s) | English |
| Size | 19.5 x 25 x 2 cm |
Description
Swept wing or delta? Nose, ventral, or wing-root intakes? One fin or two? Swing-wing or fixed geometry? These are just some of the many decisions faced by the designer of a modern combat aircraft. Although the paramount need for streamlining usually produces shapes that are sleekly attractive, aesthetics play no part — every line and surface in a fighter airframe has a precisely defined job. Design for Air Combat explains the rationale behind the aerodynamic design process, from the initial outline of a requirement for a new aircraft to the subtle interactions of the various structural components of the operational aircraft.
Along the way, many compromises must be made. The classical delta offers lower supersonic drag but demands excessive runway lengths. A wing optimized for subsonic efficiency rapidly loses performance in the transonic region. Ventral intakes provide the engine with orderly airflow at high angles of attack but can ingest damaging debris thrown up by the nose wheel. It is the designer’s job to resolve these conflicts so that the Air Staff and front-line squadrons obtain maximum performance for the available budget, and before existing equipment becomes inadequate to meet the threat.
Fundamental to any aircraft design are the principles of aerodynamics: how a wing produces lift, what causes drag, and how lift and drag are balanced to allow efficient flight. The Introduction clearly sets out these basics and introduces many of the concepts expanded upon in later chapters. Also explained are the requirements underlying combat aircraft, starting with the emergence of new threats and progressing from project definition, through preliminary design, to full-scale design and development.
Subsequent chapters examine the major components of an airframe in turn: wing, air intakes, fuselage, tailplane, fin, and aft-body/exhaust. The major attributes and variations of each are discussed in detail, with design issues illustrated by reference to actual development work. For the wing, parameters include aerofoil section, camber and twist, aspect ratio, wingtip shape, and taper ratio, while principal variations on the basic straight surface include aft-swept, delta, and forward-swept wings. Case histories illuminate the influences shaping the designer’s choices, including the evolution of the Dassault Mirage family, which has moved from classical delta to swept wing and back again as requirements and technologies have evolved.
Although each major component is analyzed individually, its interaction with the rest of the airframe is never neglected. Designers must consider both the negative effects of tailplane wake on fin effectiveness at high angles of attack and the beneficial effects of strake-induced vortices on mainplane lift. In fact, the era of the fully integrated airframe has already arrived in the form of the control-configured vehicle. Enabled by advances in high-power, high-reliability microcomputing, such aircraft are deliberately designed with reduced stability, producing large weight savings and improved manoeuvrability. One of the most significant developments of the last decade, this approach — known as relaxed static stability (RSS) — is discussed at length.
Illustrated with more than 230 clear line drawings and 50 photographs, Design for Air Combat makes the increasingly complex world of aerospace technology accessible to first-year students, industry and service professionals, and anyone who wants to understand the fascinating interplay of forces that shapes the modern combat aircraft.