Aircraft Stability and Control
An MIT OpenCourseWare course covering applied aerodynamics and the classical and modern methods used to analyze and design stable, controllable aircraft. Topics include static stability and trim, stability derivatives, and the longitudinal and lateral-directional motions produced by the wing, fuselage, and tail. The course examines control system performance in both time and frequency domains, human-pilot models for pilot-in-the-loop control, and the special stability challenges of V/STOL aircraft transitioning between hover and forward flight. Later sessions address parameter sensitivity, handling quality analysis across varying flight conditions, and nonlinear regimes such as high angle-of-attack flight and roll coupling. Materials include MIT's lecture notes, problem sets, and course readings, free to access online with no certificate offered. Aimed at advanced aeronautics and astronautics students already familiar with basic flight dynamics.