Aircraft Structures

Still relevant decades after its 1950 publication, this legendary reference text on aircraft stress analysis is considered the best book on the subject. It emphasizes basic structural theory, which remains unchanged with the development of new materials and construction methods, and the application of the elementary principles of mechanics to the analysis of aircraft structures.


Suitable for undergraduate students, this volume covers equilibrium of forces, space structures, inertia forces and load factors, shear and bending stresses, and beams with unsymmetrical cross sections. Additional topics include spanwise air-load distribution, external loads on the airplane, joints and fittings, deflections of structures, and special methods of analysis. Topics involving a knowledge of aerodynamics appear in final chapters, allowing students to study the prerequisite aerodynamics topics in concurrent courses.