Designers Books

I'm not a professional aerospace engineer, just a pilot and EAA member building a kitplane in his garage. I also have this crazy idea to someday design and build my own motorglider. So now that I've established my credentials (or lack thereof), on with the review.

It's hard enough finding design information for airplanes, much less sailplanes. The only other book I'm aware of is Fundamentals of Sailplane Design, which is a fine book on aerodynamic design but lacking in detail design. Sailplane Design by Vittorio Pajno fills in a lot of those details. Here's the Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Glider design and drafting
Chapter 2: Materials and their properties
Chapter 3: Flight Mechanics
Chapter 4: Glider Aerodynamics
Chapter 5: Glider stability--the physical meaning
Chapter 6: Glider stability calculation
Chapter 7: Glider dynamic stability calculations
Chapter 8: Airworthiness requirements
Chapter 9: Structural loads
Chapter 10: Aeroelastic vibrations
Chapter 11: Static tests
Chapter 12: Flight tests
Chapter 13: The glider type certification
Appendixes and Calculation Examples

The comprehensive coverage and amount of detail involved in every step from preliminary concept to final flight testing, even to the point of outlining what info should be in the owner's manual, is breathtaking. Every chapter covers core concepts available in other aircraft design texts (with bibliographies available at the end of each chapter), but re-states and expands them in the context of sailplane design and operation. There are plenty of equations and examples to illustrate practical design principals, yet the book avoids going into deep theoretical math, wisely leaving those derivations to the specialized texts.

Chapter 1 discusses the type and number of drawings required for a typical sailplane: safety aspects, cockpit ergonomics, lofting of the glider design, even a list of all the calculations that will need to be performed to certify the design. Chapter 2 covers all the materials commonly used in aircraft design (wood, steel, aluminum, composites, etc.) and discusses the strengths, weaknesses, and tradeoffs involved with each. Chapters 3-7 cover the fundamental aerodynamic analysis as found in many stability and control texts, but with particular emphasis on how they are applied to sailplane design. Chapter 8 covers regulatory requirements such as safety factors, gust loads, etc., mostly the European regs such as JAR, but those aren't too different from the US FARs. Chapters 9 and 10 contain information very hard to find elsewhere, like how towing speed affects structural design, the impact of airbrake loads, and the distinct difficulties sailplanes have with aeroelastic flutter given their slender fuselages, long wings and (often) T-tails. Chapters 11-13 run through the requirements and procedures for static and dynamic load testing, flight testing, and finally the certification and documentation process. There are many B&W and color photos and graphs throughout the book showing everything from hinge moment factors to detail design photographs of control quick connections and airbrake box details.

This book was translated from Italian to English without much professional help, something the author apologizes for in both the preface and backmatter. And indeed, the grammer and spelling is a bit rough in places (like 'trough' for 'through' almost everywhere.) I had no problems following the author's writing however, and the grammatical and spelling errors that exist are minor distractions (and certainly a lot easier than trying to decipher ur t33n's txt msgs.)

If you're one of the handful of people on the planet who actually have an interest in sailplane design, I highly recommend this book, if you can actually find it.

This book is very informative, insightful & wise. Just what I needed to further my knowledge and skill!

I worked for George Lois at the end of the 1990s. This book, well, it's George. They read like tales that are larger than life. And to some extent, I even think that's what he wants you to believe. But the essence of it all says something else, for George really does live his life this way. All or nothing. Larger than Life. I don't know how many stories he told that I didn't hang onto every word. The glint in his eye, the hint of a sly smile. George is one of the last great verbal story tellers. And when you do read his book and wonder at the stories yourself, I am reminded of one of George's last ad campaigns. It was a PSA campaign for the New York Blood Bank. The campaign would not have existed if it wasn't for George calling on some of his celebrity friends to offer their time for free. Trump, Ed Koch to name a few...

the neverending adventures of tubes in a loop. Every tube tells a story, but what's inside the tubes? You decide. You Tube.

This book is awesome - not only does it have images of lots of Inflate products that you can't find anywhere anymore, but it goes into how the company got started and some of the technical manufacturing aspects. Great for anyone interested in industrial/product design.

This book takes the guess work out of designing the concrete bases and structures for signs and light posts. It mis very easy to follow and has good examples and tables.

Of all the lovely garden picture-books out there, few actually offer applicable advice (unless you own a country-house estate!). A Small Garden Designer's Handbook is not only chock-full of gorgeous photography, it actually shows you how you can turn the smallest plot of earth into a personalized piece of Eden.

With chapters on ground planning, enclosures, plants, and focal points, you'll see the options are abundant even if your acreage is not. There is an insightful emphasis on the "architecture" of the garden: using it to support plants, or using plants AS architecture-- helping to make the garden an extension of the home, not just a separate entity. With attention paid to details like paths and paving, entrances and eye-catchers, as well as ornaments and containers, you needn't worry if your thumb is not the greenest around.

From the inside flap:
There are many elements - apart from the plants themselves - that make a garden different and special. All too often they are seen as playing a secondary role, but in fact they dictate the flavor of the whole garden. Used wrongly, they can destroy its harmony; used with skill, they can pull disparate features together and can give structure at a stroke; used with bravura, they can lift the mundane into something spectacular.

"Rebuilding an interstellar culture from the ruins of the Third Imperium involves a wide variety of activities, and each of these can form the basis of great adventures. The Reformation Coalition undertakes all of them -- intelligence gathering, diplomacy, economic redevelopment, interstellar trade and commerce, and many, many more. But of all of them, the one operation that became synonymous with the Coalition, the one most closely linked to the Star Viking mystique, was called Smash & Grab."

The essence of Smash & Grab is that Reformation Coalition operatives (the characters) engage on covert missions to planets outside the RC borders. They infiltrate for a number of missions (intelligence, rescue, surgical strike), and by different methods. The missions can get real hairy; though the RC (usually) has superior equipment & training in its favor, the opponents ("teddies" - technologically elevated dictatorships) have the benefit of numbers and control over the planet.

I would highly recommend this book, and the rest of the TNE series.

Wayne Gralian
Wayne's World of Books / Krakow RPGs
WaynesBooks.com

This one's my favorite. I've been journaling for years and this blank book has all of the features I'm looking for. The cover closes to protect the pages. There's a pocket in the back for photos and notes. The binding is stitched so it stay open easily. The paper is great. A great deal at twice the price.

This is a great journal for the price. The quality of the paper is good and I love writing on it. The wrap around cover with magnetic seal is ideal.