Book Reviews

AEROSPACE / FEBRUARY 201944

Afterburner

Overall, the new edition is a positive addition to the airworthiness-related literature, though with a limited educational value

AIRWORTHINESS

Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, UK. 2017. xxiii; 528pp. Illustrated. £76. ISBN 978-0-08-100888-1.

The De Florio book on airworthiness – now in its third edition – has been a long-standing resource for aviation practitioners, academics and students wishing to learn more about this topic. The very nature of aviation regulations offers nothing but challenges to master this topic, either as an author or a practitioner/student.

In the preface, the author tries to set the tone by describing the aim and scope of the book:n (Aim) “I hope this book will guide young

engineers and generally be a reference for aviation professionals”

n Scope) “This book ... is not a certification manual: the scope of this book is to provide guidance on the philosophies and processes behind the certification process and related regulations.”Does the author succeed in fulfilling these

promises? The book is divided in 12 chapters, which can largely fit in with the following thematic categories: Introduction and fundamentals, offering a broad

overview of safety and airworthiness (Chapter 1 and 2), a description of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and civil aviation authorities’ functions (Chapter 3) and an overview of airworthiness requirements (Chapter 4)

Type certification, under the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules (Chapters 5 and 6)

Production (Chapter 7) Certificates of Certificates of Airworthiness and

Permits to Fly (Chapter 8) Air operations and continuing airworthiness

(Chapters 9 and 10) Airworthiness of unmanned aircraft (Chapter

11) covering very broadly certification and registration provisions within the FAA and the EASA regulatory framework

‘From Airworthiness to ‘Spaceworthiness’?’ (Chapter 12) offering some information around the FAA rules governing the safe operation of space vehicles.Macroscopically, the new edition incorporates an

expanded section on air operations and continuing airworthiness (Chapters 9 and 10, totalling to 258 pages, as opposed to 77 pages of the previous edition’s Chapter 9). Moreover, a new chapter (11) on unmanned aircraft has been added. Microscopically, the book has been updated to reflect the EASA regulatory framework, rather than its preceding framework, namely that established by the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA). This update is of value to the audience of this book.

Similarly, to the previous edition (published in 2011), there is a clear disconnect between what the author claims and what the book can actually achieve. This book can be best described as a secondary guidance resource, since most of the material presented is actual FAA and EASA regulatory clauses. Moreover, the Chapters’ structure follow that of the FAA and EASA regulations (sections, subsections, sub-subsections, sub-sub-sections, etc), which does not assist the comprehension and learning process. Another shortfall observed is the scarcity of schematic representations of regulatory structures/processes/interactions etc. Such features can be of pedagogic value, both for students and aviation professionals wishing to study in depth the complex FAA and EASA aviation regulations. The analysis and comments made on these regulatory clauses provide valuable insight into the philosophy, however, the presentation structure does (again) a disservice to the reader.

Overall, the new edition is a positive addition to the airworthiness-related literature, though with a limited educational value.

Dr Kyriakos I KourousisCEng MRAeS

The BelugaXL’s maiden flight – which began and concluded at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport on 19 July 2018 – initiated a certification campaign that will lead to this next-generation oversize airlifter’s service entry this year. Airbus.

An Introduction to Aircraft Certification and Operations – Third editionBy F De Florio

FEBRUARY 2019 45i fFind us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn Find us on Facebook www.aerosociety.com

Reduction of Environmental Impact through Aircraft Technology and Alternative FuelsEdited by E S Nelson and D R Reddy

CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742, USA. 2017. Distributed by Taylor & Francis Group, 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon OX14 4RN, UK. xxxviii; 355pp. Illustrated. £170. [20% discount available to RAeS members via www.crcpress.com using AKQ07 promotion code]. ISBN 978-0-415-62098-7.

This book belongs in a series focusing on practical solutions for sustainable energy and climate protection. In the context of concerns about climate change, air quality and noise – and following the recent agreement of the first fuel efficiency standard in aviation by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2016 – this is a timely collection of chapters. They focus on the technologies that are currently in development but that might in future be used to improve the environmental performance of air transport. The subject – and the time frame of interest – are important ones, for there are few industries in which environmental efficiencies are already so high, or in which the options for radical change are so limited.

So, air transport faces a dilemma with respect to its green technologies: they are central to the continued existence of the industry but, in many cases, they still lie some distance over the horizon.

The 14 individual chapters are authoritative and up-to-date, written by experts in their respective fields. There is little in the way of editorial work to knit the chapters together into an overarching narrative but, nevertheless, the sequence is logical and the topics progress through the environmental impacts of aviation (noise and emissions); technologies to mitigate those impacts (noise mitigation, advanced materials, clean combustion, airspace systems, alternative fuels); and prospects for green aviation. In terms of balance, six chapters are devoted to alternative fuels – reflecting one of the main objectives of the book – but the overall effect is that this topic dominates the coverage to the detriment of other technological considerations.

Overall, the collection contains a wealth of technological material that will be useful to those working in these relatively specialist fields – although there is the perennial problem that, for any rapidly-evolving technology, there are limits to the currency of the details. The general reader needs more of a narrative approach which explains the broader context of why these technologies are so urgently needed; how they can play a part in a low-carbon, low-noise aviation future and what we can do to bring them to fruition.

Dr Ben DaleyLecturer in Sustainable DevelopmentCentre for Development, Environment and PolicySchool of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)

Overall, the collection contains a wealth of technological material that will be useful to those working in these relatively specialist fields

The E-Thrust was an electrical distributed propulsion system concept for lower fuel consumption, fewer emissions and less noise. Airbus.

GREEN AVIATION

46

Book ReviewsAfterburner

AEROSPACE / FEBRUARY 2019

While potentially interesting to the aerospace historian, the real value comes from the practical detail offered to those seeking to develop future rocket propulsion systems

historian, the real value comes from the practical detail offered to those seeking to develop future rocket propulsion systems and some insight into operation with aircraft. Frank Winter’s extensive research offers fascinating insight into RMI’s programmes, the engine approaches, the materials and the testing difficulties, including the need for remote and large area test sites away from the general public and the risk of noise complaints – without resorting to a single equation.

The book’s final chapter offers a valuable historical lesson and insight into the cost of developing rocket engines and the pitfalls awaiting cash-sensitive start-up rocket companies. Those who refuse to recognise the lessons of the past are condemned to forever repeat them!

Adam Baker

AMERICA’S FIRST ROCKET COMPANY

Reaction Motors, Inc. Library of Flight seriesBy F Winter

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Reston, VA. 2017. Distributed by Transatlantic Publishers Group, 97 Greenham Road, London N10 1LN, UK. xx, 301pp. Illustrated. £39. [20% discount available to RAeS members on request; E mark.chaloner@tpgltd.co.uk ]. ISBN 978-1-62410-441-1.

This 2017 hardback, written by Frank Winter, formerly Curator of Rocketry at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum offers a highly readable technical history, of interest to anyone keen on rocket propulsion. Reaction Motors Inc (RMI) emerged from the activities of the American Rocket Society in the 1930s, particularly four enthusiasts engaged in the exciting (and dangerous) development of rocket propulsion. RMI was incorporated a few weeks after the USA entered WW2 and within five years had grown to enable development of the XLR-11 engine which powered the Bell X-1, the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in 1947 and, by 1953, had powered the first aircraft to fly at twice the speed of sound – the Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket.

Other successes achieved within ten years of founding the company included powering and steering America’s first single rocket to reach space – Viking – which in turn lead to Vanguard America’s first dedicated satellite launch rocket. RMI later became the Reaction Motors Division of the well-known Thiokol company, where it went on to build the XLR-99 engine that powered the first real spaceplane, the North American X-15, and then the control engines for the Surveyor programme that landed robotic probes on the Moon. Particular attention is paid to how RMI mastered the major challenge of allowing a liquid engine to operate for long durations, through the concept of regenerative cooling.

While potentially interesting to the aerospace

Above: The Reaction Motors XLR-99 powered the North American X-15 hypersonic research aircraft to Mach 6.72 in October 1967, which remains a record for a manned, powered aircraft. USAF.

Below: A XLR-11 rocket engine test run on a Bell X-1B. NASA.