Few technological advances have affected the lives and dreams of individuals and the operations of companies and governments as much as the continuing development of flight. From space exploration to package transport, from military transport to passenger helicopter use, from passenger jumbo jets to tilt-rotor commuter planes, the future of flying is still rapidly developing. The essays in this volume survey the state of progress along several fronts of this constantly evolving frontier. Five eminent authorities assess prospects for the future of rotary-wing aircraft, large passenger aircraft, commercial aviation, manned spaceflight, and defense aerospace in the post-Cold War era.

DIVClear, concise text covers aerodynamic phenomena of the rotor and offers guidelines for helicopter performance evaluation. Originally prepared for NASA. Prefaces. New Indexes. 10 black-and-white photos. 537 figures. /div

Cockpit Engineering provides an understandable introduction to cockpit systems and a reference to current concepts and research. The emphasis throughout is on the cockpit as a totality, and the book is accordingly comprehensive. The first chapter is an overview of how the modern cockpit has evolved to protect the crew and enable them to do their job. The importance of psychological and physiological factors is made clear in the following two chapters that summarise the expectable abilities of aircrew and the hazards of the airborne environment. The fourth chapter describes the stages employed in the design of a modern crewstation and the complications that have been induced by automated avionic systems. The subsequent chapters review the component systems and the technologies that are utilized. Descriptions of equipment for external vision - primarily the windscreen, canopy and night-vision systems - are followed by pneumatic, inertial and electro-mechanical instruments and the considerations entailed in laying out a suite of displays and arranging night-lighting. Separate chapters cover display technology, head-up displays, helmet-mounted displays, controls (including novel controls that respond directly to speech and the activity of the head, eye and brain), auditory displays, emergency escape, and the complex layers of clothing and headgear. The last chapter gives the author's speculative views on ideas and research that could profoundly alter the form of the crewstation and the role of the crew. Although the focus of the book is on combat aircraft, which present the greatest engineering and ergonomic challenges, Cockpit Engineering is written for professional engineers and scientists involved in aerospace research, manufacture and procurement; and for aircrew, both civil and military - particularly during training. It will also be of great interest to university students specialising in aerospace, mechanical and electronic engineering, and to professional engineers and scientists in the marine, automotive and related industries.

Test pilots - dashing and courageous young men or foolhardy gamblers? In this fully illustrated book written by the producer of the BBC1 television series of the same name, we follow the ups and downs of a group of trainee test pilots at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire. Beginning with the exacting selection procedure, we discover what personal and professional qualities a pilot needs in order to become a test pilot. Only six UK and twelve foreign students are chosen each year and, once selected, the pressure on them steadily mounts. As the students learn to push each aircraft's performance to its limits they, too, are being mentally and physically stretched further than ever before. Training is given on both fixed - and rotary - wing aircraft and by the end of the course each student is fully conversant with the different techniques necessary to fly each type. They learn how to recover safely from spins, how to cope with sudden failures of equipment in mid-flight and how to land an aircraft with no power. All the time, they are assessing each aircraft's capabilities and the scope of the on-board technology. The final part of the course is the 'preview exercise' when every student is required to evaluate an aircraft he has never flown before and to make a formal presentation to his tutors and examiners. Using a number of remarkably frank interviews with students and tutors, Brian Johnson explores the process of becoming a test pilot and reveals both the stresses and successes of the year. The RAF has given its full support to both the book and the television programmes and thus has enabled Brian Johnson to produce a unique and authoritative account of the training for one of the most responsible and exciting jobs in modern aviation.