Historical overview of air and space flight. Principles of flight and characterization of the atmosphere and space. Vehicle concepts, and an introduction to aerodynamics, materials, structures, propulsion, flight mechanics, control, aircraft systems, and design.

Fundamentals of inviscid, incompressible flow. Derivation of basic equations for lift, drag and aerodynamic moments through dimensional analysis. Two dimensional flow over airfoils. Airfoil characteristics. Thin airfoil theory, finite wing theory. Wing and body interactions. Aerodynamic drag characteristics. Boundary layers.

Introduction to aircraft and rocket engines with emphasis on the performance and characteristics of various types of propulsion systems, including turbojet, turbofan, turboprop, ramjet, scramjet and liquid & solid propellant rockets.

Fundamentals of flight control systems, engine control systems, fuel systems, hydraulic systems, landing gears, electrical systems, environmental control systems, emergency systems, avionics and rotary wing systems. Aerospace systems design and development methodology.

Aerospace component experiments: drag polar and Cm-alpha curve for an airfoil; fuselage and landing gear drag; compliance matrix of an isotropic and a laminated composite; mechanical and thermal properties of various aerospace materials; reporting.

Introduction to experimental determination of structures, propulsion and systems aspects of aerospace engineering. Oral and written presentations and reports.

Aircraft mission analysis; Conceptual aircraft design; Weight estimation; Wing design; Payload compartment design; Stabilizer and control surface design; engine selection; aircraft systems design; performance analysis; trade studies; design verification; design documentation and presentation.

Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research

Derivation of the general equations of motion (EoM) for aircraft and space flight. Solution of Aircraft EoM for cruise flight and flight maneuvers including coordinated turns, takeoff and landing. Solution of EoM for orbital mechanics problems including transfer trajectories. Calculation of required specific impulses. Design of interplanetary trajectories.

Techniques for managing, planning and executing engineering projects. Computer based analysis and synthesis techniques. Manufacturing and assembly techniques. Statistical methods to support manufacturing, safety and reliability based design. Engineering Ethics. Social impact of engineering decisions and projects. Effective written and oral communication.

Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research

Flight Dynamics and Control is a three-credit course that covers the dynamics of aircraft motion, methods of analysis and design for stability and control, longitudinal motions, lateral-directional motions, and coupled longitudinal and lateral-directional motions.