Padfield G.D. Helicopter Flight Dynamics. The Theory and Application of Flying Qualities and Simulation Modelling

2-nd ed. — Blackwell Publishing, 1996. — 641 p. ISBN13: 978-1-4051-1817-0, ISBN10: 1-4051-1817-2.The book is written mainly for practising flight dynamics engineers. In some organizations, such a person may be described as a flying qualities engineer, a flight simulation engineer or even a flight controls engineer, but my personal viewis that these titles reflect subdisciplines within the larger field of flight dynamics.Key activities of the flight dynamics engineer are simulation modelling, flying qualities and flight control. Simulation brings the engineer into a special and intimate relationship with the system he or she is modelling and the helicopter is a classic example. The present era appears to be characterized by fast-disappearing computational constraints on our ability to model and simulate the complex aeroelastic interactions involved in helicopter flight.Keeping step with these advances, the flight dynamics engineer must, at the same time, preserve an understanding of the link between cause and effect. After all, the very objectives of modelling and simulation are to gain an understanding of the effects of various design features and insight into the sensitivity of flight behaviour to changes in configuration and flight condition. In the modelling task, the flight dynamics engineer will need to address all the underlying assumptions, and test them against experimental data, in a way that provides as complete a calibration as possible. The flight dynamics engineer will also have a good understanding of flying qualities and the piloting task, and he or she will appreciate the importance of the external and internal influences on these qualities and the need for mission-oriented criteria. Good flying qualities underpin safe flight, and this book attempts to make the essence of the theoretical developments and test database, assembled over the period from the early 1980s through to the present time, accessible to practising engineers. Flight testing is an important part of flight dynamics, supporting both simulation validation and the development of flying qualities criteria. In this book I have attempted to provide the tools for building and analysing simulation models of helicopter flight, and to present an up-to-date treatment of flying qualities criteria and flight test techniques.Helicopter flight dynamics – an introductory tour
Modelling helicopter flight dynamics: building a simulation model
Modelling helicopter flight dynamics: trim and stability analysis
Modelling helicopter flight dynamics: stability under constraint and response analysis
Flying qualities: objective assessment and criteria development
Flying qualities: subjective assessment and other topics
Flying qualities: forms of degradation