The field of airplane stability and control is amazingly broad. From the prediction of aerodynamic forces and moments, to optimal control law design, handling qualities, sensing and actuation, simulation, nonlinear stability theory, and distributed autonomous control, it is possible to deal with only a small part of this field of study in a single course or text. Here we will focus on some of the aerodynamics considerations relevant to stability and control studies. These notes explicit exclude, for example, issues in feedback control design. More specifically we will deal with fixed wing aircraft stability and control, primarily at subsonic speeds.
Even with these restrictions, the field is large as evidenced by the diverse topics listed in the table of contents. Before examining these issue in detail, this introductory chapter tries to put the present program into perspective with a brief historical review followed by more modern applications of aerodynamics for simulation and control.