Multinational, Multidisciplinary, Vertically Integrated Team Experience in Aircraft Design*

An experiment in team capstone design education which began by adding engineering freshmen to traditional senior design groups has expanded into one involving freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors in a large, multidisciplinary design team. The experiment has also broadened to include an international design experience by having American design students work with their peers at European schools. This multidisciplinary, international design approach has resulted in a valuable experience for its participants who are much better prepared for the team environment found in industry today and for today's era of multinational aerospace programs.