ABSTRACT
An atmospheric vehicle moves in the flow field of (free) air. Air pressure (P), air temperature (T), air density (ρ), and air velocity (V) are very important considerations in the study of such flight vehicles, and a knowledge of (P, ρ, T, V) at a point in the air defines a flow field; here e.g., P = P(x, y, z), and so on. In any flight mechanics-cum-dynamics (FMD) study and analysis, the three aspects are very important: (i) aircraft stability and control, (ii) aircraft performance, and (iii) vehicle’s dynamic trajectory analysis. Aircraft stability and control aspects are the direct outcomes of the application of the control theory of dynamic systems to aircraft, and here, the aircraft is considered as a dynamic system. The aircraft performance mainly depends on the aircraft engine being used for propelling the vehicle through the atmosphere. The aircraft dynamic trajectory is the time history of its flight path and of many components of this flight path through the atmosphere. All these three major studies and study of flight mechanics constitute the main body of the flight dynamics.
