Customer Reviews

Analysis of Aircraft Structures: An Introduction

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a big disappointment. It has too many words, yet somehow doesn't say much. There are not many good example problems that really teach the physics of how the aircraft structure is behaving. Just as a matter of pestilence, the chapters are labeled with Greek letters instead of numbers. Although Dr. Donaldson may find this cute, it makes it damn hard to maneuver through the book. If you want to learn how to analize aircraft structures you would do better to get AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES by Peery (or Peery and Azar, 1984) or ANALYSIS OF AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES by Bruhn. This book just doesn't seem worthy to be in the McGraw-Hill Series.

i believe that critique must be held at a high level in an atmosphere of politeness.the book is very good.the book contains-in more than 900 pages!- a unique variety of many aspects of engineering interest,from theory of elasticity to standard mechanics of materials, indeterminate structures,energy theorems of structural analysis,theory of plates,approximate and numerical methods and finally introduction to the most valuable for aircraft structures,"finite element techniques".the book contains many problems,answered in detail,many photos of practical interest.the writer proceeds from the mathematical formulae & results to the physical meaning.the presentation of the "maxwell's reciprocity theorem"is of considerable practical worth,the writer's analysis of "shear flow in closed &multi-cell cross sections"&"torsion flow and twist in multi-cell cross sections" can be found only in-a few- advanced textbooks.i have read peery's book too.it is equally excellent,although written in a slightly different style!regarding the use of greek letters,it is a pleasant surprise,it reminds rhapsodies of iliad,or odyssey!the greek alphabet is so extensively used in classical technical essays!(remember TIMOSHENKO!)the bibliographical documentation is rich.concluding i want to ensure that i find the book VERY GOOD,& ADVANCED. i am looking forward to a revised edition,including -if possible-some programmable procedures,with an accompanying diskette!!i wish the best!

I have just ordered a copy of the Dr. Donaldson's Analysis of Aircraft Structures. I was fortunate enough to have used the manuscript for this book as the primary reference in two courses in structural analysis. The writer's clear writing style and insightful examples, both numerical and theoritical were of a superior quality. Having read/used nearly 100 texts in Aerospace Engineering and related fields, I would have to say this volume, even on a pre-publication basis, ranks in the top 10 in terms of quality of presentaiton as well as the overall flow and structure of the presentation. I look forward to receiving my recently ordered copy and I would recommend it to both AE and ME undergraduate and graduate students as a primary text and reference on Aircraft structural analysis. With regards to the negative comments on the use of greek characters, I completely disagree. The use of these symbols is universal in science and engineering and are tools of the trade so to speak.

I found this book to be a well written general structures book. More detailed aircraft analysis methods and examples would help. I resisted buying this book for years just because of the annoying use of greek letters.