Advances in Aircraft Flight Control [Book Review]

This volume is a recent addition to the Taylor & Francis book series on Systems and Control and represents a review of current practices in the field of flight control design. The book is an outgrowth of a special issue of the International Journal of Control devoted to applications of modern control techniques to aircraft flight control design. Additional contributions were obtained from an AGARD Flight Mechanics Panel Symposium. Considerable effort has been expended in ensuring that this volume is not merely a bound reproduction of previously published papers. A coherent and balanced presentation is evident with admirable production values throughout. The volume includes a foreword by the editor and concludes with an extensive and comprehensive index over ten pages in length. The text has a definite international flavor and contains 15 chapters contributed by 38 authors from six nations, all of whom speak from firsthand experience in the field of flight control design. It should be emphasized at the outset that the treatment of the subject matter in this book is unique in that it is not a tutorial on control system design techniques, per se, but rather a detailed and referenced description of current practice in the aircraft industry. The primary contribution of this volume lies in its ability to capture and describe an important part of the design experience of the aerospace industry, worldwide. The realities of the modern aerospace industry means that, in contrast to his/her senior colleagues, the young engineer now embarking upon a career in aircraft flight control will likely participate in the design of only a few flight control systems. For such young designers, the compilation of experience captured in this book should prove quite valuable. The more experienced engineer or academician also would benefit from its inclusion on their bookshelves.