No work on aircraft design can be done alone. Over time, throughout my passionate engagement in this fascinating subject, I have been advised, taught, supported, shared, allowed to see rare documents and even taught to become a private pilot, which exposed me to aeronautics in a fortunate manner. One‐third of my career has been spent in academia and two‐thirds in industry. I owe a lot to many. Now, after my retirement with time in hand. I am now in an age group that bridges more than half a century of aerospace progress. My aerospace career started in 1960 and now this is the twenty‐first century. I have had the good fortune of witnessing many aerospace achievements, especially putting man on the Moon.

There is a clear gap between academic pursuits and what industry expects from fresh graduates as finished university ‘products’. Both the USA and the UK are aware of this problem and both make periodic recommendations. One of the reasons could be that there appears to be a misconception within certain sectors of academics/research that how engineers generate good designs is a ‘mystery’. All aircraft books outline methodologies devoid of any mystery; the differences are in the content. Keeping an undergraduate curriculum simple may ease teaching but could mask the rigours of the industrial practice when the gap appears. In fact, engineering design is a process and today's practices are so mature that they demonstrate systematic patterns. The freshly inducted students must be given good exposure to industrial practices at an early stage, to have a feel for what to expect when they join industry to start their professional lives.

The role of scientists and engineers are defined (Von Karman said ‘A scientist discovers what already exists. An engineer creates that never was’). Converting ideas into reality for customer usage proves more difficult than adding any number of publications to a list (an exception being those papers that break new ground or advance a cause that is being adapted to wealth generation). Maybe the measure by which scientists are judged should be like that of engineers, namely, how much wealth the work has generated (where wealth must be defined in broad terms to include all that encompasses the common wealth). It is to be clearly understood that both scientists and engineers have to work together and not in a fallacious hierarchy in which advanced degrees stand above significant experience. Just consider the names Johnson, Mitchell, Dassault and so on.

Today's engineers will have to be strong in both analytical and applied abilities to convert ideas into profitable products. We hope that this book will serve the cause by combining analytical methods and engineering practices adapted to aircraft design. Therefore, the prerequisites would be second year (UK)/junior (USA) level mathematics and aerodynamics. It is not very difficult for those who are rusty or have missed out in acquiring these prerequisites – just an academic term of effort in what is offered on any university syllabus. This book offers more than just analysis by including ‘experience’. Aircraft design must be practised.

I thank my teachers, heads of establishments/supervisors, colleagues, students, shop‐floor workers and all those who taught and supported me during my career. I remember the following (in no particular order) who have influenced me – the list is compacted for the sake of brevity; there are many more individuals to whom I owe my thanks.

Teachers/Academic Supervisor/Instructors:

The late Professor Triguna Sen of Jadavpur University.

Professor James Palmer of Cranfield University.

Professor Arthur Messiter and Professor Martin Sichel of University of Michigan.

The late Professor Holt Ashley and Professor Samuel McIntosh of Stanford University.

Reverend Dr John Watterson, Ex‐Senior Lecturer, Queens University Belfast, UK.

The late Squadron Leader Ron Campbell, RAF (Retrd.), Chief Flying Instructor, Cranfield University.

Heads of Establishments/Supervisors:

The late Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the Indian Space Research Organisation.

James Fletcher, Short Brothers and Harland, Belfast.

Robin Edwards, Canadair Limited, Montreal.

Kenneth Hoefs, Head of the New Airplane Project group, Boeing Company, Renton, USA.

Wing Commander Baljit Kapur, Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore.

The late Mr Raj Mahindra, MD (D&D), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore.

Tom Johnston, Director and Chief Engineer, Bombardier Aerospace‐Belfast.

Dr Tom Cummings, Chief Aerodynamicist, Bombardier Aerospace‐Belfast.

My Ex‐Students and Most of My Ex‐Colleagues (Both Shop‐Floor and Office)

Without them, I do not have my profession.

I offer my special thanks to HAL shop‐floor workers who stood by me and offered unconditional support in many difficult situations.

I am grateful to all the establishments associated with names given here. I learned a lot from them. Many of my examples are based on my work in these companies. I started my aeronautical career with Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast (then Short Brothers and Harland Ltd) and after a long break rejoined and then retired from the company, the first aerospace company to celebrate its centenary.

Personal Observation:

If I might deviate slightly, I have found from personal experience that one of the major hindrances to progress in some of the developing world comes from the inability to administrate technological goals even when there is no dearth of technical manpower – who perform better when working in the advanced world. People know about political asylum but professional asylum, also known as the ‘brain drain’, is a real issue. While design is not done by democratic process, the design culture should encourage free sharing of knowledge and a liberal distribution of due recognition to subordinates. Lack of accountability in higher offices is one of the root causes; the failure to exploit the full potential of natural and human resources. Technology can be purchased, but progress has to be earned. I hope to prepare the readers to contribute to progress. Progress and awareness come together to change management culture, something is bound to happen, I am hoping that it catches up fast to exploit the true potential of the nation.

My grandfather, the late Dr Kunja Behari Kundu; my father, the late Dr Kamakhya Prosad Kundu and my cousin‐brother, the late Dr Gora Chand Kundu are long gone but they kept me inspired and motivated to remain studious. In a similar way, today, I must mention my mother, the late Mrs Haimabati Kundu and the three aunties, the late Mrs Kalyani Kundu, the late Mrs Ishani Kundu and the late Mrs Chandra Kundu, who contributed to my upbringing in different ways to become what I am today. My wife Gouri's tireless support saved me from becoming a hunter‐gatherer, sparing the time to write this book. I am grateful to these people – thanks are not enough.

From the finest experience we enjoyed together to publish our book titled Theory and Practice of Aircraft Performance (ISBN: 9871119074175), it is natural to join hands again under this task of publication. Indeed, I am fortunate again to join with my long‐standing colleagues Professor Mark A. Price, Pro‐Vice‐Chancellor for the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Queen's University Belfast (formerly, he was Head of the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) and Mr David Riordan, Fellow, Nacelle Design and Power‐Plant Integration (Bombardier Aerospace‐Belfast) as co‐authors. With more than five years added since we started our first adventure, this older person now needed more support than the last time. I am certain a second edition will follow in the capable hands of my coauthors' hands, but I do not think I will do anything more than remain in a supporting role.

I had my aeronautical education in the United Kingdom and in the United States of America; I worked in India, the United Kingdom and in North America. In today's world of cooperative ventures among countries, especially in the defence sector, the methodologies adopted in this book should apply. These organisations gave me the best education, their best jobs and their best homes.