Lecture Notes on Configuration Aerodynamics

Abstract

<br>Practical applications of aerodynamic theory are critically important for aerodynamic design of aircraft configurations, but are often omitted from aerospace engineering curricula. <b><i>Lecture Notes on Configuration Aerodynamics</b></i> is an incredible resource for educating the next generation of aerospace engineering students who aspire to engage in the aerodynamic design of aircraft configurations. It shows how aerodynamic theory is applied in practice, giving students insight into what a career in aerodynamics entails. This textbook offers a design-oriented perspective of the development and analysis of aircraft aerodynamics.

Based on his academic experience as a professor and his industrial experience at Grumman, Mason presents decades of relevant knowledge and wisdom of a large number of exceptional researchers and practicing engineers. Extensive references throughout the book encourage further study of configuration aerodynamics.

This open textbook encompasses the aerodynamic design of flight vehicles with emphasis on flow fields and configuration concepts. Mason covers methodologies for aerodynamic analysis and design for flows ranging from low speed to high speed and includes case studies of classic configurations.

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<b>How to access this book</b> <br>The open textbook is freely available <b>online</b> in multiple formats, including: PDF, EPUB, and <b><a href="https://pressbooks.lib.vt.edu/configurationaerodynamics/">Pressbooks</a></b>. <br>A paperback print version (in color) is <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1962841502">available for order here</a></b>. <br>This page may include links to supplementary resources. The permanent URL for this page is: <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/10919/139932">https://hdl.handle.net/10919/139932</a>. <br>The publisher's page for this book is: <a href="https://doi.org/10.21061/configurationaerodynamics">https://doi.org/10.21061/configurationaerodynamics</a>.

<b>ISBNs</b> <br>ISBN (PDF): 978-1-962841-52-8 <br>ISBN (Pressbooks): 978-1-962841-53-5 <br>ISBN (EPUB): 978-1-962841-51-1 <br>ISBN (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1962841502">print</a>): 978-1-962841-50-4

<br><b>Table of contents</b> <br> 1. Introduction to Configuration Aerodynamics <br> 2. Foundations of Fluid Mechanics: Governing Equations <br> 3. Fundamentals of Aerodynamic Drag <br> 4. Configuration Aerodynamic Design: Use of Computational Aerodynamics <br> 5. Subsonic Aerodynamics: Airfoils and Wings <br> 6. Transonic Aerodynamics: Airfoils and Wings <br> 7. High-Lift Aerodynamics <br> 8. High-Angle-of-Attack (High-α) Aerodynamics <br> 9. Supersonic Aerodynamics <br> 10. Hypersonic Aerodynamics <br> 11. End Note <br> Appendix A: Geometry for Aerodynamicists <br> Appendix B: Fifteen Minutes of Stealth in Aircraft Design <br> Appendix C: Government Regulations Affecting Configuration Aerodynamics <br> Appendix D: Examples of Aerodynamic Design <br> Appendix E: Software for Aerodynamic Analysis and Aircraft Design <br> Appendix F: Configuration Aerodynamics Reading List <br> Appendix G: The Configuration Aerodynamicist’s Bookshelf

<br><b>About the author and editor</b> <br><b>William H. Mason</b>, <i>author</i> <br>William H. Mason (1947–2019) developed a deep passion for airplanes quite early in his life. Growing up in Southwest Virginia, he spent countless hours building and flying model airplanes as a teenager. When he was an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech, he seized upon opportunities to gain practical experience, working summers at McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was involved with various F-4 aircraft projects, including the swing-wing F-4, and at the Edwards Air Force Base, California, working on US Army Huey Cobra helicopters. In 1974, he began his fifteen-year professional aerospace engineering career with Grumman, where he made valuable contributions to many high-profile projects, such as: (i) the X-29, an experimental aircraft with a forward-swept wing and canard; (ii) the NASA/Grumman Research Fighter Configuration with supercruise and maneuvering capabilities; and (iii) the SC3 Wing Concept, which set a record for low drag at high-lift supersonic performance. From 1989 until his passing in 2019, he was a dedicated educator at Virginia Tech. Right after returning to VT in 1989, he devoted himself to sharing his knowledge and insights with students and colleagues. His legacy lives on with a large number of students who either took the courses he offered in aircraft design, applied computational aerodynamics, and configuration aerodynamics or performed research in aerospace systems design and multidisciplinary optimization. He co-authored Applied Computational Aerodynamics: A Modern Engineering Approach—one of the first textbooks on this topic for undergraduates—published by Cambridge University Press in 2015. He also authored or co-authored more than 100 technical papers and reports. He was a lifelong Hokie, having earned his BS degree in 1971, a MS in 1972, and a PhD in 1975, all in aerospace engineering from Virginia Tech. Mason was an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

<br><b>Pradeep Raj</b>, <i>editor</i> <br>Pradeep Raj is a Collegiate Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech and spent twelve years serving as a faculty advisor of student capstone aircraft design teams and conducting collaborative research in simulation driven design to enable development of quality affordable aerial vehicles. He joined VT in 2012 after thirty-two years (1979–2011) with Lockheed Martin, a premier aerospace and defense corporation. For the first twenty years there, he held key technical leadership positions and made noteworthy contributions to advancing the effectiveness of computational simulation capabilities for meeting aircraft design needs. For the next twelve years, he held executive leadership and management positions before retiring from the Advanced Development Programs organization commonly known as the Skunk Works®, which is world renowned for creating breakthrough technologies and landmark aircraft. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS). He earned a PhD in aerospace engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1976 after earning a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering and a bachelor’s in electrical technology, both from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India.

<b>Project support</b> <br>This project was made possible in part through financial support from the University Libraries’ Open Education Initiative and the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering.

<b>Suggested citation</b> <br>William H. Mason and Pradeep Raj, <i>Lecture Notes on Configuration Aerodynamics</i> (2026). <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en">CC BY-NC-SA 4.0</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.21061/configurationaerodynamics">https://doi.org/10.21061/configurationaerodynamics</a>.

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