Good books/resources for getting into aerodynamics?

[Someon332]

TL;DR Summary: I want to know some good resourced on aerodynamics and the viability of a project I want to make.

Hey everyone! First post here, so if I do something wrong please do tell me :)
What are some good resources for getting into aerospace engineering and aerodynamics? I currently have only completed Physics 1 and have started a calculus course, so I'm not too advanced in either subject. It would be great if the resources were for this level of education!

Also, just had a random idea I kind of want to build, but would it be possible to lift a person (~50 kg) with an Aerofoil of reasonable/big size moving at a slow velocity (~5m/s)? Just some napkin math with a general idea of if it even is possible and what size Aerofoils would be required would be great!

 

[russ_watters]

Welcome to PF!
Anderson's Fundamentals of Aerodynamics is pretty much the gold standard intro textbook (it does not require advanced math):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1259129918/?tag=pfamazon01-20

5 m/s is going to be tough. The Gossamer Condor flew at 7.

 

[Someon332]

I just threw out 5m/s as a starting number. I looked it up and it was giant- much bigger than anything I could build. I only had that idea because I wanted to fly, but seeing how big it is it seems improbable.
Are there other methods of flying rather than completely powered flight (jetpack) or generating lift (aerofoil)?

Also thanks a lot for the book!
Edited to add- is there any way to get the book for cheaper but still legally? I'm seeing $200 for new and $50 for rent, but then I only have the book for 2 months.

 

[jrmichler]

I looked it up and it was giant- much bigger than anything I could build.

And with that approach - starting with basic napkin math, you are off to a good start. Make that off to a very good start. Just be aware that a full BS degree in Aeronautical Engineering is barely enough to properly design a flying vehicle. Also that the best aircraft designers had to design and build more than one before learning how to get it right.

 

[russ_watters]

I just threw out 5m/s as a starting number. I looked it up and it was giant- much bigger than anything I could build.

And it could only lift a person.

Are there other methods of flying rather than completely powered flight (jetpack) or generating lift (aerofoil)?

Hovercraft, balloon/airship. Depends on the requirements.

Also thanks a lot for the book!
Edited to add- is there any way to get the book for cheaper but still legally? I'm seeing $200 for new and $50 for rent, but then I only have the book for 2 months.

That was the first link I found, but it looks to me like older editions are available for as little as $10.

 

[Someon332]

That was the first link I found, but it looks to me like older editions are available for as little as $10.

I'll look deeper into it, thanks!

 

[Someon332]

And with that approach - starting with basic napkin math, you are off to a good start. Make that off to a very good start. Just be aware that a full BS degree in Aeronautical Engineering is barely enough to properly design a flying vehicle. Also that the best aircraft designers had to design and build more than one before learning how to get it right.

This gives me a little hope, that it really is a complicated subject instead of me being slow.
Thanks for the insight!

 

[berkeman]

What are some good resources for getting into aerospace engineering and aerodynamics?

In case you haven't already seen it, this Insights article by @boneh3ad is a good place to start:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...e-wing-work-a-primer-on-lift-comments.845786/

 

[Lnewqban]

TL;DR Summary: I want to know some good resourced on aerodynamics and the viability of a project I want to make.

Welcome @Someon332 !

Please, see:
https://www.av8n.com/how/

 

[DrJohn]

Ebay has some copies around the $55-$65 mark. You can find the previous edition on sale for about $50, cheaper still for the 4th ed. Books and basic theory don't change a huge amount, often new editions are released to kill the second hand market after four or five years, as lecturers can get a free copy if they recommend the textbook and stick it on the book list (I got many that way, especially if a new edition came out and I had the old one, which was no longer in shops). Shuffling chapters around and changing a few end of chapter questions means it helps if you have the recommended version when the lecturer says Read chapter seven for next week and try questions 1 2, 5, and 7.

As for other methods of flying - hang gliders and conventional gliders / sailplanes.

But PLEASE don't build and try to fly your own aircraft of any sort - you will probably kill yourself! Unless, of course, you are an experienced designer and experienced pilot. I teach people to fly gliders and most would die if we just stuck them in the aircraft and launched them up in the air!
And some try to kill me with their bad flying, but we instill in their mind from day one, flight one, even before takeoff, what they must do if I say "I have control" , and then we both live happily every after. But one left me so shaken I had to sit down for an hour to get calm enough to fly with someone else. It was the only time in a glider I have thought I AM going to die.

So read jrmichler's post above, the third reply.

I recently read a report by a very famous glider pilot / glider test pilot who flew stunts and "fighter attacks" for several big movies in the 60s and early 70s. He was persuaded to test fly a new model of glider, designed and built by a homebuilder who had, over many years, successfully designed and flown a few other designs he had created. The test pilot got out after the first flight, refused to take a second one, described it as the most difficult, frightening and unstable thing he'd ever flown. Then said the only reason he had let the aircraft towing him get him up to 2000' was to be high enough to use his parachute if he lost control totally! The designer then sawed the wings in half in case anyone else was daft enough to try to fly it.

 

[FactChecker]

But PLEASE don't build and try to fly your own aircraft of any sort - you will probably kill yourself! Unless, of course, you are an experienced designer and experienced pilot.

Amen!

 

[Someon332]

Ebay has some copies around the $55-$65 mark. You can find the previous edition on sale for about $50, cheaper still for the 4th ed. Books and basic theory don't change a huge amount, often new editions are released to kill the second hand market after four or five years, as lecturers can get a free copy if they recommend the textbook and stick it on the book list (I got many that way, especially if a new edition came out and I had the old one, which was no longer in shops). Shuffling chapters around and changing a few end of chapter questions means it helps if you have the recommended version when the lecturer says Read chapter seven for next week and try questions 1 2, 5, and 7.

As for other methods of flying - hang gliders and conventional gliders / sailplanes.

But PLEASE don't build and try to fly your own aircraft of any sort - you will probably kill yourself! Unless, of course, you are an experienced designer and experienced pilot. I teach people to fly gliders and most would die if we just stuck them in the aircraft and launched them up in the air!.

(On mobile, sorry for formatting issues, if any)
I wasn’t ever planning on going up high with anything I built myself, just a couple feet up in a field with a rope attached to a weight or other safety gear to see if my design would work, but 1) I realize I can’t build something that big and 2) I now realize it’s very unsafe even with the precautions I had in mind (head injuries and crashing)
Thanks for the response and especially thank you for the warning!

 

[Benjies]

For low reynolds flow (your very slow flow system), take a look at the selig1223 airfoil. This foil is widely used at the SAE heavylift competition.

If you are limited in machinery I would instead recommend the eppler423- this can be CNC'd acceptably. But if you've got a laser cutter, take a look at the selig.