Other Books by the Author

Dimensional Analysis for Engineers and Scientists

J. Gordon Leishman
First published 2026
ISBN 979-8-234-18044-5

Dimensional Analysis for Engineers and Scientists develops dimensional reasoning as a practical method for understanding physical relationships, organizing complex problems, and establishing meaningful scaling laws. Beginning with physical quantities, units, dimensions, and methods of calculation, the book progresses through dimensional homogeneity, the Buckingham method, nondimensionalization, similarity, and the interpretation of dimensionless parameters.

The emphasis is on physical understanding rather than formula memorization. Readers learn how dimensional analysis can be used to check equations, identify governing combinations of variables, reduce the number of independent parameters in a problem, design experiments, scale model results to full-size systems, and recognize situations in which complete physical similarity cannot be achieved.

Applications are drawn from engineering and the physical sciences, with particular relevance to aerospace engineering. Examples include aerodynamics, wind-tunnel testing, structures, aeroelasticity, rotating systems, heat and mass transfer, free-surface flows, rarefied gases, wave phenomena, and other physical systems. The book provides a systematic treatment of dimensional analysis and similarity, complementing their application throughout Introduction to Aerospace Flight Vehicles.

Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics

J. Gordon Leishman
Second Edition
Cambridge University Press, 2006
Cambridge Aerospace Series
826 pages
ISBN 978-0-521-85860-1, hardback
ISBN 978-1-107-01335-3, paperback

Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics provides a comprehensive treatment of the aerodynamic principles underlying helicopters and other rotating-wing flight vehicles. Beginning with the fundamentals of rotor aerodynamics, the book develops blade-element analysis, rotating-blade motion, rotor performance, and aerodynamic design, then progresses to more advanced subjects such as rotor airfoils, unsteady aerodynamics, dynamic stall, rotor wakes and blade-tip vortices, rotor-airframe interactions, and computational methods.

The book is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, practicing engineers, and researchers who require a deeper treatment of rotorcraft aerodynamics than is provided in the broader scope of Introduction to Aerospace Flight Vehicles. Many of the concepts introduced in the rotorcraft chapters of this eBook are developed there from first principles and carried through to engineering applications.

The Helicopter: Thinking Forward, Looking Back

J. Gordon Leishman
College Park Press, 2007
272 pages, illustrated
ISBN 978-0-9669553-1-6
LCCN 2007924178

The Helicopter: Thinking Forward, Looking Back examines the helicopter from a broader technological perspective and asks why, despite decades of research, analysis, and experimentation, many of its fundamental performance limitations remain. The discussion considers the interconnected aerodynamic, acoustic, aeromechanical, structural, and design factors that determine what helicopters can achieve and what continues to constrain their development.

Rather than serving primarily as a mathematical textbook, the book examines how advances in rotor aerodynamics, wakes, acoustics, aeromechanics, materials, propulsion, and vehicle design have influenced the evolution of rotorcraft. It combines historical perspective with an assessment of continuing technical challenges and future opportunities.

For readers of Introduction to Aerospace Flight Vehicles, the book provides additional context on the development of vertical flight and illustrates how the individual disciplines of aerospace engineering must ultimately be integrated to design a successful rotorcraft.