I am leaving design for the stress group next year...

any texts/manuals/handbooks that are essential or just handy to have?

lancel,

Of course it depends on who you talk to, but the following are some excellent resources:

Essential:
"Analysis and Design of Flight Vehicle Structures" by E.F. Bruhn.  Last printed in 1973 but still available from many sources.  The "Bible" of airplane stress analysis.  Also try to get a copy of Bill McCombs' supplement to Bruhn "for increased scope and usefulness".

Handy to Have:

"Airframe Stress Analysis and Sizing" by Michael C.Y. Niu. ISBN 962-7128-08-2.  Look for the second edition (1999)which corrects several errors compared to the first edition.

"Practical Stress Analysis for Design Engineers" by Jean-Claude Flabel. ISBN 0-9647014-0-5.  A good entry-level book for stress analysts.

There are many others, of course, depending on your particular emphasis.  Roark's book of stress/strain equations, Peterson's book on stress concentrations etc.

Ask the senior engineers in your new stress group which references they use the most in the office; that's probably going to be your best guide.

Good luck.
SuperStress

Thanks...appreciate you taking the time to write.