Preface to the 2024 Edition

The continued success of this e-book in 2023, its second year of release, has been quite remarkable. Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and course adoptions from all over the world continue to increase. Access statistics for 2023 show 109,000 unique visitors to the e-book and over 310,000 unique page (chapter) views, a uniform increase of over 100% since 2022. Over the last year, the average number of chapter views per hour was 70, with peaks of over 4,000 chapter views per hour.

The 2024 release of the e-book has undergone the inevitable round of typographical fixes and other corrections, accompanied by numerous updates and some reformatting, including revised and new figures. Some chapters have been better organized in terms of content and order, which should help both students and instructors. Additions to the e-book for the 2024 edition include chapters on SI and USC units, unsteady flows, turbulent flows, acoustics and noise, astrodynamics and orbital mechanics, helicopters and VTOL, lighter-than-air (LTA) vehicles, gliders and sailplanes, electric aircraft, and ground-effect aircraft.

Much success and best wishes in your future studies!

J. Gordon Leishman
Distinguished Professor of Aerospace Engineering, ERAU, Daytona Beach, FL.
Professor Emeritus of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

Contact the author via email at LeishmanEbook@gmail.com.