Fundamentals of Aerospace Engineering: A Practical Introduction to Flight, Aerodynamics, Propulsion, Aircraft Structures, Orbital Mechanics, and Space

By Ivan Y. Clay

Aerospace engineering, built from the ground up.

Most introductions to aerospace engineering read like a catalogue of disconnected specialties, a chapter on wings, a chapter on rockets, a chapter on orbits, and no thread joining them. This book takes the opposite approach.

Starting from Newton's laws and the properties of air, it builds one continuous argument across 16 chapters: from atmospheric flow and airfoil behavior to finite wings, compressible flow and shock waves, aircraft performance, stability and control, propellers and gas turbines, rocket and electric propulsion, structures, materials and fatigue, orbital mechanics, spacecraft subsystems, vehicle design, and airworthiness. Each chapter assumes what came before. Nothing appears without motivation.

Inside you'll find:

198 fully worked examples, solved step by step with units carried throughout160 practice problems - ten per chapter - with complete explanations, not just answers20 technical figures covering flow regimes, load paths, orbital geometry, and system architecturesThree reference appendices, a 76-term glossary, and a full index

Written for first-year engineering students, self-taught learners, and working professionals crossing into aerospace from an adjacent discipline. SI units throughout. No prior aerospace coursework assumed, only calculus and introductory physics.

Stop memorizing formulas you can't derive. Scroll up, buy your copy, and start building real engineering intuition today.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HGG8C883
• ISBN13: 9798194811496
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 454 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.5" x 11.0"