Airfoils and Wings

The books discussed below are limited to the aerodynamics of airfoils and wings. They include theory, experimental data base, design issues and airfoil sections for special applications at speeds up to supersonic.

1. Rozhdestvensky KV. Aerodynamics of a Lifting System in Extreme Ground Effect. Springer, 2000.
   Review: The author describes wings in ground effect from his experience of the great Russian Ekranoplans (wing-in-ground vehicles). the books discusses flow past lifting surfaces, liner and non linear theories in ground proximity, in the presence of curved ground; aerodynamics efficiency, power- augmented lifting systems, equations of stability, flexible wings in ground effect, etc. etc. This is the ultimate reference on the subject.

2. Simons M. Model Aircraft Aerodynamics, Nexus Special Interest, 1999 (4th edition).
   Review: This books contains the basic physics of low speed airfoils. It contains excellent drawings and graphics (very descriptive on their own) and a wide variety of data, including airfoil coordinates, pressure plots, drag polars, performances of wing tip devices, etc. Recommended.

3. Eppler R., Airfoil Design and Data, Springer Verlag, 1990.
   Review: Prof. Eppler discusses the theoretical bases of his successful design method. There is some boundary layer theory, bubble warning and inverse design program. Large airfoil data base (coordinates, CD, CL), including airfoils for general aviation, helicopter rotors, propellers, high lift, etc, with basic design considerations and parametric constraints. An important reference book.

4. Carafoli E. Wing Theory in Supersonic Flow, Pergamon Press, 1969.
   Review: A tough book, very mathematical, of little use these days, but with interesting discussion of delta wings with subsonic, sonic and supersonic edges, even in yawed flow.

5. Jones RT. Wing Theory, Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ. 1990.
   Review: theoretical, as the title implies. Comprehensive, from the wing’s point of view. I like particularly the chapter on “The Minimum Drag of Thin Wings” (chapter 9). R.T. Jones was a recognized authority in this field.

6. Althaus D. Stuttgarter Profilkatalog.
   Review: It has been a reference of data for many years. The Wortmann airfoils are particularly popular among wind turbine engineers and gliders. All airfoils are correlated with CD, CL and CM plots (polars or otherwise).

7. Abbott IH, Von Doenhoff A. Theory of Wing Sections, Dover Publ. Inc., New York, 1959.
   Review: It has been a reference for airfoil data for over 40 years. You can find a lot of more recent publications, but this book set a standard. Besides airfoils data in a range of Reynolds and Mach numbers, there is some related aerodynamic theory (airfoils definitions, boundary layers, compressibility effects).

8. Bauer F, Garabedian P, Korn D, Jameson A, Supercritical Wing Sections I, II , III, Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Volumes 66,108 and 150 (1972, 1975, 1977, respectively),

9. Carmichael BH. Low Reynolds Number Airfoil Survey, NASA CR-1165803, 1981.

10. Selig MS, Donovan JF, Fraser DB. Airfoils at Low Speeds, Soar Tech Publ., Virginia Beach, VA, 1989.

11. Selig M, Lyon C, Giguere P, Ninham C, and Guglielmo J. Summary of Low-Speed Airfoil Data, Vol. 2, SoarTech Publ., Virginia Beach, VA, 1996.