Modeling and Simulation of Aerospace Vehicle Dynamics, Fourth Edition unifies all aspects of flight dynamics for the efficient development of aerospace simulations. It provides the reader with a complete set of tools to build, program, and execute these simulations. Unlike other books, it uses tensors for modeling flight dynamics in a form invariant under coordinate transformations. For implementation, the tensors are converted to matrices, resulting in compact computer code.

In the first part, the equations of motion are derived with three-, five-, and six-degrees of freedom (DoF), using the novel tensor flight dynamics methodology, which is grounded in Einstein’s Principle of Covariance. Extensive details are provided by the second part of the book on how to model aerodynamics, propulsion, guidance, and control of aircraft, missiles, and hypersonic vehicles. New sections include a hypersonic missile with authoritative aerodynamic and propulsion data, and the derivation of the six-DoF equations for GPS/INS, based on the WGS84 elliptical Earth model.

Twelve simulations undergird the didactic value of the Fourth Edition, programmed in C++ and compatible with Microsoft compilers. The simulations include three-, five-, and six-DoF models of air-to-air, air-to-ground and surface-to-air missiles, UAVs, aircraft, hypersonic vehicles, and space boosters. They are based on the CADAC++ framework and are compatible with CADAC Studio for plotting and stochastic analysis. All software is open source and can be downloaded freely from the AIAA website.

Amply illustrated, this text may be used for advanced undergraduate and graduate instructions or for self-study. 78 problems and five projects amplify the topics and develop the material further. Qualified instructors may obtain a complimentary solutions manual from AIAA.

This book also serves as an anchor for three self-study courses, which are based on the author’s modeling and simulation lectures at the University of Florida. They are available for purchase at arc.aiaa.org:

Building Aerospace Simulations in C++, Third Edition

Fundamentals of Six Degrees of Freedom Aerospace Simulation and Analysis in C++, Second Edition

Advanced Six Degrees of Freedom Aerospace Simulation and Analysis in C++, Second Edition