The Author The wonder of flight, and things that flew, led Gareth Padfield to study aeronautical engineering at the University of London, and later learning to fly both aeroplanes and helicopters. His career has been spent in the aviation industry, government research and in academia and has involved all aspects of flight dynamics - flight testing, modelling and simulation, flying qualities and flight control. He has held senior management and leadership roles in Government service (Chief Rotorcraft Scientist) and Academia (Head of School of Engineering) and has always endeavoured to keep his technical skills active as a practitioner. Gareth's current role is Emeritus Professor of Aerospace Engineering at The University of Liverpool where he supports staff and students in their endeavours. He also operates a consultancy company, Flight Stability and Control, undertaking a variety of specialist projects for the aviation industry, and delivering short courses in Europe, the USA and the Far East. Gareth Padfield is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Aeronautical Society. He is an honorary member of the American Helicopter Society's Modelling and Simulation and Handling Qualities Technical Committees and he has served on the UK's Defence Scientific Advisory Council. While Helicopter Flight Dynamics is primarily for practising engineers, his 'other' book, So You Want to be an Engineer, (ISBN: 978-0-9929017-2-1) is primarily for students and early practitioners; it is available as a pdf on researchgate.net. Gareth is also a musician and songwriter, recognising the close connection between creativity in engineering and creativity in music; both require a mix of disciplined and free thinking that, in the right combination, can work wonders and unmask mysteries.