Analytical Subsonic Aerodynamics
A graduate level MIT OpenCourseWare subject on the analytical foundations of inviscid, subsonic, steady aerodynamic flow over slender bodies. Lectures build from a review of fundamental fluid mechanics through singular perturbation methods, using these techniques to simplify the mathematics and sharpen physical understanding of key flow phenomena. Topics include similitude, axially symmetric subsonic flows, linearized subsonic flow, slender body theory, similarity rules for subsonic flows, two dimensional flow past a wave-shaped wall, thin wing theory, and Kaplan's higher approximations. The course emphasizes scientific rigor and applied mathematical complexity as the basis of classical subsonic aerodynamics. Materials come from MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and are freely available through MIT OpenCourseWare under a Creative Commons license, with no certificate offered.