ICNPAA 2010: Mathematical Problems in
Engineering, Aerospace and Sciences

The problem of Flutter – an inherent destructive instability of aircraft in subsonic flow which mandates the maximum speed at any altitude by the Federal Aviation Administration to be within 15% of the Flutter Boundary-continues to be of interest even as we consider unmanned aircraft. Much is understood about Flutter phenomena in nonviscous airflow but the extension to viscous flow is still open - and the only known technique involves the Prandtl Boundary Layer theory, still not proven mathematically.