The Aircraft Design Process

Introductionto the fundamentals of aircraft design is provided. These include the definition of the mission of the aircraft and various requirements, such as performance, handling, manufacturing, certifiability, upgradability, maintainability, and many others. This is followed by a general description of the aircraft design process and a general definition of a number of regulatory terms that are frequently encountered in industry. These are of particular importance to the entry level aerospace engineer who usually has a very limited exposure to this part of engineering. Then, a specific aircraft design algorithm is presented whose purpose is to guide the aircraft designer through the conceptual design process. This is prepared in a “what to do next” format and is based on actual industry experience and are not academic “cookbook” approaches. This information is followed by an introduction of selected project management tools. Many beginning project leaders are often at a loss as to how to manage a project, warranting the discussion of the tools. Project management revolves around knowing what to do and when to do it. Thus, the manager must construct a chronological order of the tasks that need to be completed. Tools, such as Gantt and Ishikawa diagrams and House of Quality, are described. Finally, helpful approaches to describing engineering ideas using graphics ranging from three-view drawings, solid modeling, FEA, CFD, engineering reports and drawings, as well as composite photo images are discussed.