Book excerpt: Pilots, aviation students, kitplane builders, aircraft fleet operators and aeronautical engineers can all determine how their propeller-driven airplanes will perform, under any conditions, by using the step-by-step bootstrap approach introduced in this book. A few routine flying manoeuvres (climbs, glides, a level speed run) will give the necessary nine numbers. High-school level calculations then give performance numbers with much greater detail and accuracy than many other methods - for the reader's individual aircraft.