"Flight dynamics in aviation and spacecraft, is the study of the performance, stability, and control of vehicles flying through the air or in outer space."
The study of motion, forces, and energy in relation to aerospace systems.
Kinematics: The study of motion without considering the forces that cause it.
Dynamics: The study of motion taking into account the forces that cause it.
Newton's Laws of Motion: Newton's three laws that describe the relationship between a body and the forces acting upon it.
Energy: The ability of a system to do work.
Work: The product of force and displacement in the direction of the force.
Power: The rate at which work is done.
Torque: A force that causes rotation.
Rotational Motion: The motion of an object around an axis or pivot point.
Angular Momentum: The measure of the amount of rotational motion of an object.
Conservation of Momentum: The principle that the total momentum of a closed system remains constant.
Friction: The force that opposes motion between two surfaces in contact.
Projectile Motion: The motion of an object that is thrown, launched or dropped under the influence of gravity.
Gravity: The force of attraction between two objects.
Circular Motion: The motion of an object around a circular path at a constant speed.
Centripetal Force: The force that causes an object to move in a circular path.
Elasticity: The property of a material that allows it to return to its original shape after being deformed.
Centre of Mass: An imaginary point where the entire mass of a body can be assumed to be concentrated.
Oscillations: The repeated back and forth motion of a system around a stable equilibrium point.
Simple Harmonic Motion: A type of oscillatory motion that obeys Hooke's law.
Wave Motion: The propagation of a disturbance through a medium or space.
Flight Mechanics: The study of the motion of air vehicles in flight, including aircraft and spacecraft.
Aeroelasticity: The study of the interaction between the natural structural dynamics of an aircraft and its aerodynamic forces.
Aerodynamics: The study of the motion of air around solid objects, including the lift and drag produced by that motion.
Aircraft Structures: The study of the design, analysis, and testing of aircraft structures, including wings, fuselages, and other components.
Avionics: The study of electronic systems used in aircraft, such as communication, navigation, and control systems.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD): The use of computer simulations to solve fluid mechanics problems, including the motion of air in and around aircraft.
Aircraft Propulsion: The study of the design and operation of aircraft engines, including how they produce thrust and how they interact with the aircraft itself.
Materials Science: The study of the properties and behavior of materials used in aircraft construction, such as metals, composites, and ceramics.
Control Systems: The study of how to design and implement systems that control the motion of aircraft, including autopilot systems and fly-by-wire systems.
Orbital Mechanics: The study of the motion of spacecraft in orbit, including how gravitational and other forces affect their trajectory.
"It is concerned with how forces acting on the vehicle determine its velocity and attitude with respect to time."
"For a fixed-wing aircraft, its changing orientation with respect to the local air flow is represented by two critical angles, the angle of attack of the wing ("alpha") and the angle of attack of the vertical tail, known as the sideslip angle ("beta")."
"These angles are important because they are the principal source of changes in the aerodynamic forces and moments applied to the aircraft."
"A sideslip angle will arise if an aircraft yaws about its centre of gravity and if the aircraft sideslips bodily, i.e. the centre of gravity moves sideways."
"Spacecraft flight dynamics involve three main forces: propulsive (rocket engine), gravitational, and atmospheric resistance."
"Propulsive force and atmospheric resistance have significantly less influence over a given spacecraft compared to gravitational forces."