Pilots, aviation students, kitplane builders, aircraft fleet operators and aeronautical engineers can all determine how their propeller-driven airplanes will perform, under any conditions, by using the step-by-step bootstrap approach introduced in this book. A few routine flying manoeuvres (climbs, glides, a level speed run) will give the necessary nine numbers. High-school level calculations then give performance numbers with much greater detail and accuracy than many other methods - for the reader's individual aircraft.

This report is a supplement to the article 'Integration of an Airborne Laboratory into the United States Air Force Academy Academic Curriculum' in USAFA-TR-83-2. It contains the test plans, flight test planning guides, and aircraft specifications handouts used during the applications phase of the Department of Aeronautics Airborne Laboratory. Sample calculations and plots from actual flight test data taken by cadets are also included. While at test plans, flight test planning guides, and aircraft specifications were designed to be used with the Beechcraft Sierra and Sundowner, the formats are sufficiently general so that they can be applied to any single-engine, general aviation aircraft. Commonly recognized flight test techniques are used for gathering data, and data reduction is accomplished using accepted procedures. (Author).

Based on a 15-year successful approach to teaching aircraft flight mechanics at the US Air Force Academy, this text explains the concepts and derivations of equations for aircraft flight mechanics. It covers aircraft performance, static stability, aircraft dynamics stability and feedback control.

Describes the principles and equations required for evaluating the performance of an aircraft.