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Modern sailplanes are among the most beautiful and efficient aircraft ever built. The competitive demands of the sport of soaring have led to graceful, highly optimized sailplanes with glide ratios approaching 60:1. From the beginning, much of the progress in sailplane design has been due to the work of the German Akafliegs.
This unique book by Professor Fred Thomas of the Technical University of Braunschweig grew out of the author's work with the Braunschweig Akaflieg. In its original German, it served as a textbook for an introductory course in sailplane design and a valuable reference for students in the Akafliegs. This English edition has been expanded and updated to include many sailplanes and technical developments that have appeared since the latest German edition.
However, this book is not only for the designer - it is also intended for sailplane pilots who wish to better understand the aircraft they fly. The discussion is kept at an introductory level, with emphasis on visualization and understanding the physical relationships rather than mathematical detail.
Experienced engineers will appreciate this text as well. The book contains an outstanding collection of detailed information on sailplane design, including discussions of sailplane airfoils, certification regulations and sailplane flight testing, an extensive bibliography, and an appendix with design data for over 150 sailplanes.
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