Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation

* Look it up! If aviation is your profession, or if you're simply an aircraft enthusiast, here's an authoritative, easy-to-use resource that puts a world of technical information right at your fingertips.

Written by noted aviation expert and airline pilot, the comprehensive Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation offers coverage of a complete range of technical aviation topics, with each alphabetically arranged entry designed to provide maximum insight. From absolute ceiling to jet stream, rotation rate to wind drift formulae, and everything in between, this encyclopedia covers it like no other resource available. With the Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation, you get instant facts on topics such as

  • Aerodynamics
  • Engines
  • Aircraft Performance
  • Aircraft Speed
  • Atmosphere
  • Meteorology
  • Navigation
  • Type Qualifications
  • And much, much more!
This is a desktop reference for technically-minded aviators such as commercial pilots and instructors. Technical aviation subjects are both varied and diverse, from aerodynamics to human factors, engines to meteorology, satellite navigation to rules of the air, instrument flight rules (IFR) to aircraft performance. Pilots, and indeed many professional aviation personnel, expand their knowledge on these subjects throughout their careers. This book covers all the main topics from these various subjects, and can be used as either initial learning material or a reminder for the moreexperienced pilot. The A-to-Z format of this book will make it quick and easy for the reader to locate a particular topic.

For the training pilot, this book provides a useful reference source of information on topics that are being learned for the first time. It is often difficult for new pilots to locate a particular subject from the several training manuals they are given during their training. The format of this book, though, is designed so that a topic is found easily and quickly, even by the first-time reader.

For the early-career pilot (instructors, air taxi pilots, those involved in regional operations), this book will help you to refresh your knowledge of training topics, as well as provide information on new topics associated with a move up into morecomplex aircraft, especially jet-powered machines, and commercial operations. Many of the topics that relate to this stage in your career are detailed in practical terms, and not just in theory

For the experienced pilot, this book is especially ideal as a "revision" tool. For instance, you might hear on the grapevine that your next simulator exercise will include an engine failure at takeoff, at VMCA (minimum control speed in the air), and you cannot remember much about VMCA and its further implications given other factors in the scenario. Using this book to research the meaning of VMCA or to expand your knowledge of this topic can be a great help in achieving a successful simulator assessment. This book may also be used for any general revision during a pilot's career. I think we would all admit to having forgotten something we learned early in our flying careers that we still need to know today and every day.