Office Hours
Open (except in the hour before class and when the Aerospace office is closed)
Prerequisites
- Basic helicopter theory (ENAE 631 or equivalent). ENAE 642 is not a prerequisite. Knowledge of fixed wing flight dynamics is not a prerequisite.
- Feedback control: Laplace and Fourier Transforms, transfer functions, Bode plots, poles and zeros, state-space representations--any introductory undergraduate course is likely to be sufficient.
- Computer programming—Fortran and Matlab are the recommended languages for the homework assignments. You may use other languages, but they are “not supported”, i.e., you will have to locate any appropriate software on your own.
Textbook
None. There is no textbook that covers all the material in this course, and these days textbooks are too expensive anyway. Class notes and other references will be handed out or made available electronically through the Blackboard web system.
Useful references (some more useful than others)
- Bramwell, Helicopter Dynamics, Arnold, 1976.
- Etkin, Dynamics of Atmospheric Flight, John Wiley, 1972.
- McRuer, Ashkenas and Graham, Aircraft Dynamics and Automatic Control, Princeton University Press, 1973.
- Johnson, Helicopter Theory, Princeton University Press, 1980.
- Prouty, Helicopter Performance, Stability, and Control, PWS Publishers, 1986.
- Padfield, Helicopter Flight Dynamics: The Theory and Application of Flying Qualities and Simulation Modeling, AIAA Education Series, 1995.
Syllabus
- Dynamics of rigid bodies
- Euler equations and Euler angles
- Rotor and aircraft coordinate systems
- General equations for trim in rectilinear flight and in coordinated turns
- Calculation of rotor forces and moments
- Small perturbation equations and stability derivatives
- Longitudinal and lateral directional dynamics
- Introduction to flight control systems
- Handling qualities specifications-ADS 33
- Introduction to frequency-domain systems identification and inverse simulation (if time allows)
Grade
25% Homework, 35% Midterm, 40% Final
Each of the two exams will be composed of two parts. The first part is "closed book" and will take place in class. The second part will be "take home". The take home part of the final will take place during the last week of classes, whereas the in-class part will be on the day and time of the official final (see the Schedule of Classes for details).