This riveting work of investigative reporting and history exposes classified government projects to build gravity-defying aircraft--which have an uncanny resemblance to flying saucers. The atomic bomb was not the only project to occupy government scientists in the 1940s. Antigravity technology, originally spearheaded by scientists in Nazi Germany, was another high priority, one that still may be in effect today. Now for the first time, a reporter with an unprecedented access to key sources in the intelligence and military communities reveals suppressed evidence that tells the story of a quest for a discovery that could prove as powerful as the A-bomb. The Hunt for Zero Point explores the scientific speculation that a "zero point" of gravity exists in the universe and can be replicated here on Earth. The pressure to be the first nation to harness gravity is immense, as it means having the ability to build military planes of unlimited speed and range, along with the most deadly weaponry the world has ever seen. The ideal shape for a gravity-defying vehicle happens to be a perfect disk, making antigravity tests a possible explanation for the numerous UFO sightings of the past 50 years. Chronicling the origins of antigravity research in the world's most advanced research facility, which was operated by the Third Reich during World War II, The Hunt for Zero Point traces U.S. involvement in the project, beginning with the recruitment of former Nazi scientists after the war. Drawn from interviews with those involved with the research and who visited labs in Europe and the United States, The Hunt for Zero Point journeys to the heart of the twentieth century's most puzzling unexplained phenomena.

This book provides a comprehensive basics-to-advanced course in an aero-thermal science vital to the design of engines for either type of craft. The text classifies engines powering aircraft and single/multi-stage rockets, and derives performance parameters for both from basic aerodynamics and thermodynamics laws. Each type of engine is analyzed for optimum performance goals, and mission-appropriate engines selection is explained. Fundamentals of Aircraft and Rocket Propulsion provides information about and analyses of: thermodynamic cycles of shaft engines (piston, turboprop, turboshaft and propfan); jet engines (pulsejet, pulse detonation engine, ramjet, scramjet, turbojet and turbofan); chemical and non-chemical rocket engines; conceptual design of modular rocket engines (combustor, nozzle and turbopumps); and conceptual design of different modules of aero-engines in their design and off-design state. Aimed at graduate and final-year undergraduate students, this textbook provides a thorough grounding in the history and classification of both aircraft and rocket engines, important design features of all the engines detailed, and particular consideration of special aircraft such as unmanned aerial and short/vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. End-of-chapter exercises make this a valuable student resource, and the provision of a downloadable solutions manual will be of further benefit for course instructors.

Aircraft Conceptual Design Synthesis means design by fitness-for-purpose. Design engineers can jump off from the point of given parameters and requirements – required performance, payloads and other factors. This is the first book for the aeronautical designer devoted to guiding the reader through this highly effective conceptual design synthesis process. This forms the procedure for the initial stage of the aircraft design process – the interpretation of a requirement into the preliminary layout. A logical design sequence is developed utilizing original modules to represent propulsion, lift, drag, mass, and performance. Aircraft Conceptual Design Synthesis includes a disk of spreadsheets that provides core data. Unlike existing approaches, the design synthesis method can be applied to novel aircraft concepts. CONTENTS INCLUDE The design process Aircraft configuration Flight regime and powerplant considerations Fuselage layout Configuration of the wing Basic lift, drag and mass representations Performance estimation Parametric analysis and optimisation Analysis of concept design “This is an important landmark book and in my view will become a standard by which others will be compared” – Dr E C P Ransom, Kingston University, UK

A large-scale, variable-geometry inlet model with a design Mach number of 3.0 was tested at Mach numbers from 1.55 to 3.2. Variable features of the inlet for off-design operation are an adjustable-height ramp system and a translating cowl. This report presents experimental results for a diffuser and boundary-layer bleed configuration which was optimized at the design Mach number. Overall performance was high with throat-mounted vortex generators, which were effective in reducing flow distortion in the subsonic diffuser at the higher Mach numbers.