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Quest for Performance: The Evolution
of Modern Aircraft
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- Preface
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- [ix] More than 75
years have passed since the Wright brothers' historic first flight
of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina, on December 17, 1903. During this relatively brief
period, the airplane has developed from a useless freak to a
highly significant force in modern society. The transformation of
the airplane during this period must be ranked as one of the great
engineering accomplishments of all time. The magnitude of the
achievement is emphasized by the nature of the vehicle and the
rigorous requirements for precise design of every element. In no
other type of machine, with the possible exception of space
vehicles, do the often conflicting requirements of performance,
safety, reliability, and economic viability place such a high
premium on detailed design optimization, based on quantitative
data and analysis.
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- The evolution of the airplane since 1903
rests on technological advances in such fields as aerodynamics,
stability and control, propulsion systems, structures, materials,
internal systems, and manufacturing technology. Advancements in
all these areas have been made possible by millions of man-hours
spent by highly motivated people. Private individuals, research
laboratories operated by civil and military elements of the
government, and universities-as well as industrial design,
research, engineering, and manufacturing teams-have all
contributed to the development of the airplane. The evolution of
the modern airplane has been characterized by a series of
technological levels, or plateaus, that extend over a period of
years. Each level has been exemplified by an aircraft
configuration type that is gradually improved by a series of
relatively small refinements, without any major conceptual change.
Under the stimulus of some form of competition, new technology in
a number of disciplines has occasionally been combined
synergistically in a new design to produce an aircraft of a new
and higher level of technology. The Douglas DC-3 transport is a
good example of this type of advancement. In a few rare instances,
a revolutionary breakthrough or [x] new concept
has dramatically altered the course of aeronautical development
and established a new and higher technical plateau. The advent of
the jet engine and the concept of the swept wing for high-speed
flight fall into this category.
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- Although some further refinement was
possible, the technology of the propeller-driven airplane equipped
with a reciprocating engine was, at the end of World War II, on a
plateau with little expectation of major improvement. In the face
of this depressing prospect, aircraft equipped with a new and
revolutionary type of propulsion system, the jet engine, appeared
on the scene in the closing months of the war. This innovative
propulsion system introduced an entirely new level of technology
in aircraft design. The subsequent advances in aircraft
performance and capability made possible by the turbine engine
have perhaps been even more spectacular than those characterized
by the first 40 years of powered flight. The initial applications
of jet propulsion were to military aircraft of various types.
Indeed, the military airplane and the concepts of its various
missions went through a complete metamorphosis as a result of this
new type of propulsion system. The first jet-powered transport
entered commercial operations in 1952. This event heralded the
beginning of a revolution in domestic and international air
transportation that has accompanied the development and refinement
of this type of transport. The entire concept of common-carrier
transportation has been radically altered by the jet
transport.
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- This volume traces the technical
development of the airplane from a curiosity at the beginning of
World War I to the highly useful machine of today. Included are
significant aircraft that incorporated important technical
innovations and served to shape the future course aeronautical
development, as well as aircraft that represented the state of the
art of aeronautical technology in a particular time frame or that
were very popular and produced in great numbers. In order to
reduce the scope of material under consideration, primary emphasis
has been placed on aircraft originating in the United States
(except in chapter 2). No adverse reflection on the quality of the many
fine foreign designs developed over the years is intended by their
exclusion. The aircraft described certainly do not include all the
significant types designed in the time period 1914-80, but they do
illustrate the primary features of the technical evolution of the
airplane. If the reader's favorite aircraft is not included, the
reference lists at the end of this volume include publications
that catalog data and photographs for a wide variety of
aircraft.
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- [xi] The
discussion is related primarily to aircraft configuration
evolution and associated aerodynamic characteristics and, to a
lesser extent, to developments in aircraft construction and
propulsion. The book is divided into two parts. Part I deals with
the development of propeller-driven aircraft, and part II is
devoted to subsonic jet-powered aircraft designed for civil and
military use. Some of the jet aircraft described are capable of
brief excursions into the realm of supersonic flight; however,
long-range supersonic-cruising aircraft are an entirely different
class of vehicle and are not discussed in the present
volume.
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- The material is presented in a manner
designed to appeal to the nontechnical reader who is interested in
the evolution of the airplane, as well as to students of
aeronautical engineering or others with an aeronautical
background. The use of engineering terminology has been kept at a
minimum, consistent with accuracy and the intent of the text;
where unavoidable, suitable physical explanations have been
included.
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