19 Best Books on Aircraft Design

We have compiled a list of the Best Reference Books on Aircraft Design, which are used by students of top universities, and colleges. This will help you choose the right book depending on if you are a beginner or an expert. Here is the complete list of Aircraft Design Books with their authors, publishers, and an unbiased review of them as well as links to the Amazon website to directly purchase them. If permissible, you can also download the free PDF books on Aircraft Design below.

1. Aircraft Design

 
1."Aircraft Design - A Conceptual Approach" by Raymer D P
“Aircraft Design – A Conceptual Approach” Book Review: This comprehensive book delves into the various aspects of conceptual aircraft design, covering the entire process from start to finish. The main chapters provide an overview of the design process, outlining key considerations such as sizing based on a conceptual sketch, thrust to weight ratio, wing loading, and the selection of airfoil and wing/tail geometry. In addition, the book touches upon important topics such as aerodynamics, propulsion, weights, cost analysis, structures, and loads, presenting over 900 design methods, examples, equations, and images for better comprehension. Aeronautical engineering and aerospace design students can benefit from the vast knowledge and information contained in this invaluable resource.

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2."Introduction to Aeronautics: A Design Perspective" by Brandt S A
“Introduction to Aeronautics: A Design Perspective” Book Review: This book provides an in-depth exploration of the complex processes and techniques involved in aircraft design, covering a broad range of topics such as design principles, operating environments, aerodynamics and airfoil design, performance analysis, and structural considerations. The book also delves into topics such as aircraft stability and control, sizing, wing and airplane design, and future aircraft concepts, including four detailed case studies to enhance comprehension. Each chapter is supplemented with a range of practice problems, complete with solutions to facilitate learning. This book is an ideal resource for students pursuing a career in aeronautical engineering.

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3."Civil Jet Aircraft Design" by Jenkinson L R and Rhodes D
“Civil Jet Aircraft Design” Book Review: The book provides an in-depth overview of aircraft design procedures and practices, catering to the needs of first-year aerospace engineering students. The key topics covered include the project design process, overall configuration and systems, fuselage layout, safety, environmental issues, wing and tail layout, aircraft mass and balance, lift and drag estimates, powerplant, and installation. Each chapter is enriched with numerous examples, facilitating easy comprehension for the students. The book also concludes with a concise summary of the main points covered in each chapter, which can serve as a quick reference for the students.

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4."Introduction to Aircraft Design" by Fielding J
“Introduction to Aircraft Design” Book Review: This book is an ideal resource for those seeking an introduction to civil and military aircraft design. It covers various topics, including the reasons for designing new aircraft, the factors that influence their shape, and the components and systems that make them work. The author also explores other relevant themes, such as the high cost of aircraft production and computer-aided design. The book draws upon lessons from past aircraft projects and includes 90 parametric studies and examples to aid understanding. This book is a useful tool for aeronautical engineering students looking to build a foundational knowledge of aircraft design.

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5."Aircraft Performance and Design" by John Anderson
“Aircraft Performance and Design” Book Review: This book provides comprehensive coverage of aircraft performance and design processes, from basic principles to real-world applications. It covers topics such as the evolution of airplanes, aerodynamics, propulsion characteristics, and design techniques. The book emphasizes the importance of a design philosophy that aids in understanding the student’s perspective. It addresses fundamental aspects of airplane performance and includes summary sections, case studies, and selected problems with solutions, making it an ideal reference for aeronautical engineering and aerospace design students.

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6."Aircraft Design A Systems Engineering Approach (Pb 2016)" by Sadraey
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7."Introduction to Aircraft Design (Cambridge Aerospace Series)" by John P Fielding
“Introduction to Aircraft Design” Book Review: This book offers an introduction to the design of civil and military aircraft, covering topics such as the rationale behind designing new aircraft, their shapes, and the systems underlying their structures. The book also explores why aircraft are so expensive, computer-aided design techniques, and valuable aircraft design data. It includes lessons learned from past aircraft projects and 90 parametric studies and examples, making it a valuable resource for aeronautical engineering students seeking practical knowledge. This comprehensive book is an ideal choice for anyone interested in aircraft design.

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8."Design And Development Of Aircraft Systems" by Moir I
“Design and Development of Aircraft Systems” Book Review: This book offers a detailed examination of the intricacies involved in designing and constructing aircraft systems. Its content includes discussions on aircraft systems, design and development procedures, design drivers, and system architectures. Furthermore, the book covers system integration, verification of system requirements, practical considerations, and configuration control. With a wealth of figures and tables, the book provides in-depth explanations of the various concepts covered. As such, it is a valuable resource for aeronautical engineering students seeking to deepen their knowledge of aircraft system design.

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9."Aircraft Design Projects: For Engineering Students" by Lloyd R Jenkinson and Jim Marchman Dr
“Aircraft Design Projects: For Engineering Students” Book Review: This book provides an in-depth understanding of the fundamental components involved in designing aircraft, with a particular focus on the preliminary design. The major chapters of the book consist of preliminary designs, along with project studies focusing on various aircraft types, including scheduled long-range business jets, military training systems, electric-powered racing aircraft, and High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) and Unmanned Aerial System Vehicles (UASV). Additionally, the book covers the topics of design organization and presentation, with detailed explanations of equations and diagrams. This book is recommended for students pursuing studies in aeronautical and aerospace engineering.

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10."Computer Applications in Aircraft Design and Operations" by T K S Murthy and J P Fielding
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2. Aircraft Design and Optimisation

 
1."Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach (Aiaa Education Series)" by Daniel P Raymer
“Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach (Aiaa Education Series)” Book Review: The book comprehensively addresses all aspects of aircraft conceptual design, encompassing initial sizing, configuration layout, analysis, sizing, and trade studies. It is a valuable resource for both industry and aircraft design groups, featuring design methods, illustrations, explanations, equations, and appendices to facilitate clear comprehension of the concepts. Design engineers will find it a helpful guide in their practice, with up-to-date treatments of new technologies and ideas. The book also explores spaceflight and rockets, delving into trust analysis and vehicle sizing for launch and planetary missions in detail. Furthermore, the book includes additional questions at the end to further reinforce the concepts presented.

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2."Aircraft Design of WWII: A Sketchbook" by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation
“Aircraft Design of WWII: A Sketchbook” Book Review: The book provides detailed illustrations and explanations of American aircraft models and British and German planes. It covers various parts of the planes, including the wings, empennage, controls, fuselage, landing gear, interior elements, and armament. In addition, the book includes information on military, commercial single, twin, and multi-engine planes, providing a valuable resource for designers seeking inspiration for their sketches. Whether you are a model builder, vintage aircraft enthusiast, or simply a creative person, this book offers a wealth of information and ideas.

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3."The Design And Construction Of Flying Model Aircraft" by D A Russell
“The Design And Construction Of Flying Model Aircraft” Book Review: This instructional book on model aircraft construction provides valuable insights and techniques, with numerous diagrams and step-by-step instructions. The book covers airfoil design, monoplane and biplane fuselage construction, control surfaces, and aircraft performance. It also delves into the design and testing of airscrews, including their performance, rubber motor usage, power-driven airscrew testing, and wind tunnel testing. This book is highly recommended for those interested in model aircraft construction.

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4."Scheduled Maintenance Optimization for Aircraft Composite Structures" by Chen XI
“Scheduled Maintenance Optimization for Aircraft Composite Structures” Book Review: This book offers a comprehensive guide to aircraft structural maintenance, emphasizing the crucial role it plays in ensuring airworthiness. The author covers various methodologies and MSG 3 documents while addressing the challenges associated with composite structures and structural health monitoring technologies. The book presents a flexible and cost-effective approach to aircraft structural maintenance tasks, covering topics such as inspection intervals, repair thresholds, and damage characteristics of composite airframes. Additionally, the author provides non-deterministic methodologies for maintenance tasks and explains how SHM can be integrated into scheduled maintenance, with a focus on its impact. This book is highly recommended for anyone seeking a detailed understanding of aircraft structural maintenance.

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5."Advanced Aircraft Flight Performance (Cambridge Aerospace Series)" by Antonio Filippone
“Advanced Aircraft Flight Performance (Cambridge Aerospace Series)” Book Review: This book is dedicated to aircraft flight performance and military aircraft with illustrative examples. It covers topics such as geometrical configurations, configuration aerodynamics, and aerodynamic derivatives. Additionally, the book emphasizes weight engineering, propulsion systems, aircraft trim, and flight envelopes. It also includes a discussion on mission analysis, trajectory optimization, aircraft noise, and noise trajectories. The book briefly touches upon the environmental performance of the aircraft, including carbon dioxide emissions and aircraft noise. Moreover, flight simulation and software validation techniques are discussed in the book. This book is recommended for students and professionals interested in aeronautics and aviation.

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6."Analysis and Design Optimization of Aircraft Composite Structures" by Yue Zhu FengWang Fu ShengWang Pei YanHuo Shi Hu
“Analysis and Design Optimization of Aircraft Composite Structures” Book Review: This book provides a comprehensive overview of composite structures in aircraft technology and design optimization. It covers various topics, including hyperbolic degrees siding, plate analysis, and layer plywood analysis techniques. The book also explores the mechanical properties of composites, nose radome stability, and wing aeroelastic analysis. Additionally, it highlights topics such as reinforcement, fittings, and filament composite material. With its detailed analysis and valuable insights, this book is an ideal resource for anyone interested in aircraft technology and design optimization.

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7."The importance of GA Optimization in Design Aircraft Strucuture" by Kareem Helaly
“The importance of GA Optimization in Design Aircraft Structure” Book Review: The book provides a comprehensive coverage of the optimal allocation algorithm for the distribution of corrective weights on skin panels. It delves into the details of representing deviated skin panels using non-uniform rational B-splines and dividing them into shell elements. Additionally, it includes fixture clamping locations and emphasizes the finite element analysis for calculating deformations in the FEA model’s nodes. The book also contains the optimization algorithm code and NURBS representation.

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8."Aircraft Aerodynamic Design: Geometry and Optimization (Aerospace Series" by András Sóbester and Alexander I J Forrester
“Aircraft Aerodynamic Design: Geometry and Optimization (Aerospace Series” Book Review: The book delves into the nuanced trade-offs and objectives involved in geometry parameterization, specifically in the context of aircraft design with computational geometries. It covers curve and surface formulations, including legacy formulations, which offer flexible shape models for aerodynamic design. In addition to case studies, the book provides references to MATLAB, Python, and Rhinoceros code. By exploring geometry parameterization as a critical component of modern aircraft design, the book serves as a valuable guide for researchers and practitioners in the aerospace industry, as well as for graduate and undergraduate students studying aircraft design or multidisciplinary design optimization.

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9."Identification Modeling and Characteristics of Miniature Rotorcraft" by Bernard Mettler
“Identification Modeling and Characteristics of Miniature Rotorcraft” Book Review: The book offers a comprehensive guide to vehicle dynamics through an efficient linear parameterized model. The author utilizes CIFERa identification and highlights its significance in this model. In addition, the book presents CONDUITA, an advanced optimization tool for control systems. The author also delves into the specifics of tune control laws for UAV helicopters and explains the experimental process and outcome in great detail. Furthermore, the book provides dynamic response criteria for the model. This book is an excellent resource for students who wish to pursue helicopter development.

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We have put a lot of effort into researching the best books on Aircraft Design and came out with a recommended list and their reviews. If any more book needs to be added to this list, please email us. We are working on free pdf downloads for books on Aircraft Design and will publish the download link here. Fill out this Aircraft Design books pdf download" request form for download notification.

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Manish Bhojasia, a technology veteran with 20+ years @ Cisco & Wipro, is Founder and CTO at Sanfoundry. He lives in Bangalore, and focuses on development of Linux Kernel, SAN Technologies, Advanced C, Data Structures & Alogrithms. Stay connected with him at LinkedIn.

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