Aerodynamics

THIS brief account of the mam principles of the science of aerodynamics and the historical development of aerodynamical thinking was planned to appear in 1953, the anniversary year of powered flight. The pressure of business prevented me from finishing the manuscript on the date originally planned, but I am now happy that this little book will come to the reader after the flood of publications devoted to the magnificent accomplishments of the first half-century of the air age has subsided. In this volume my purpose is not to present a sentimental or emotional review of the achievements of aviation in the past fifty years but rather, first, to give some idea of aerodynamic thought to readers familiar with the facts of aviation but less familiar with the underlying theories; second, to remind persons engaged in the study or professional use of aerodynamic science how much mental effort was necessary to arrive at an understanding of the fundamental phenomena, which the present-day student obtains readily from books and lectures.