Mark E. Dreier

MARK E. DREIER holds a B.S. and a M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. He currently consults at AVX Aircraft Company in Benbrook, Texas. Dreier is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Texas at Arlington and an invited lecturer for short courses at Penn State and the American Helicopter Society, International, which appointed him as a Technical Fellow in 2008. In 2010, Penn State named him as a McCormick Lecturer. He is the recipient of the AIAA DeFlorez Award for Flight Simulation (2012) and holder, as a team member, of four U.S. patents. In his 40-plus years of experience, he has worked on digital, analog, and hybrid simulations of helicopters, tiltrotors, and wind turbines. He has written many technical papers on simulation and presented many lectures on soft computing. He is the author of the Fuzzy Logic Development Kit (FULDEK). Dreier is a senior member of AIAA and the American Helicopter Society, International, and is a licensed pilot who enjoys introducing his students to real flight.

Introduction to Helicopter and Tiltrotor Flight Simulation, Second Edition presents the fundamentals of flight simulation in general, and rotorcraft simulation in particular, in a logical sequence of steps. It brings together the tools required to write a flight simulation mathematical model in one comprehensive reference. It relies on first principles and empirical polish to make the simulations useful. Mathematics is the coin of the realm, and the text presents the principles using linear algebra techniques and calculus wherever possible, demonstrating the equations in action. Updates to the second edition include: Significantly expanded exploration of rotor-modeling addressing dynamics, aerodynamics, downwash, aeroelasticity, and some special problems, including coaxial rotors. Demonstration programs now use the MATLAB® environment but do not require Simulink®. All source code is visible and users are encouraged to develop their own simulations. An increased number of figures have been included to show hardware and software in action. Introduction to Helicopter and Tiltrotor Flight Simulation, Second Edition can be used for senior and graduate-level instruction and as a reference for the practicing engineer. It presents the material in an informative and comprehensive, but accessible, style.