AE601A: INTRODUCTION TO

AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Instructor: Rakesh K. Mathpal

Email Id: rkm@iitk.ac.in
Aerospace Engineering Department
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
 AE601A Course Syllabus (1/2)

History of aviation and spaceflight.

Earths atmosphere and gravitational field.

Anatomy of the airplane.

Bluff bodies v/s streamlined body, anatomy of the airfoil.

Nature of aerodynamic forces.

Lift: Airplanes.

Drag: Profile and induced drag.

Significance of L/D ratio.

Aircraft propulsion: propellers, turbojets, turbofans.

Aircraft performance.
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 AE601A Course Syllabus (2/2)

Aerospace materials/structures.

Introduction to stability and control of flight vehicles.

Flight envelope and V-n diagrams.

Instruments and navigational aids.

Spacecrafts.

Exposure to flight testing/visit to the flight lab

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 Text Books/References

1. Introduction to Flight, J.D. Anderson Jr., Tata-McGraw Hill Publications,

2010.

2. Flight Without Formulae, A.C. Kermode, Pearson Publications, 2008.

3. Mechanics of Flight, A.C. Kermode, Pearson Publications, 2009.

4. The Simple Science of Flight: From Jumbo Jets to Insects, H.

Tennekes, MIT Press, 2009.

5. Fundamentals of Flight, R.S. Shevell, Pearson Publications, 2006.

6. Web Resources.

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 Suggested Stuff

Gallery of Fluid Mechanics:

http://www.fluids.eng.vt.edu/msc/gallery/gall.htm

Interesting Fluid Mechanics Software: Multimedia Fluid Mechanics

Movies:

Those magnificent men in their flying machines, 1965.

The blue max, 1966.

The magic of flight, 1996.

The right stuff, 1983.

Top Gun, 1986

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 Grades/Policies

1. Please attend all the lectures. You are responsible for all the material
covered and announcements made in the class.

2. Submit all your homework problems in time. You are encouraged to

discuss concepts amongst yourselves, however, please attempt your
assignments on your own. A homework submitted after the due date will
not be assigned any credit.

3. Final grades will be determined on the following basis: Midterm - 30%,

Final - 35%, Homework - 15%, Quizzes - 20%. The midterm and final exams
will be administered according to the academic calendar 2017 (available at
IITK website). Information about the quizzes will be given one week in
advance.

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 Grades/Policies

4. The possible grades in this course will be according to the following

scale: A [85-100], B [70-85), C [55-70), D [40-55).

5. This is a graduate level course - I expect you to be able to go back and

fill in gaps you may have as you study the material. Nevertheless, you are
always encouraged to come to me if you need help.

6. Official travel/sickness may force me to miss a scheduled class once in

a while. Make up classes will be scheduled according to the convenience
of the class. Your kind cooperation will be highly appreciated.

7. You are encouraged to interrupt me if you have questions or comments.

8. Wish all of us a Best of Learning!!! I consider it an equal opportunity for

me to learn from you as well. 7