Aerospace Engineering and Flight Systems

Topic overview

Learn the foundations of Aerospace Engineering and Flight Systems.

Aerospace engineering becomes understandable when an aircraft or spacecraft is treated as a connected system. Forces, motion, energy, mass, structures, materials, propulsion, control, environment, requirements, safety, and evidence must agree. Diagrams, estimates, units, simplified models, CAD, and experiments can reveal both what a design may do and where a model is too limited for a real decision.

Learning outcomes for Aerospace Engineering and Flight Systems

1. 1

   Map the major systems and forces in a civilian aircraft or spacecraft concept

2. 2

   Use coordinate frames, units, conservation laws, and estimates consistently

3. 3

   Compare aerodynamic, structural, propulsion, control, and mass tradeoffs

4. 4

   Create a conceptual design-review plan that distinguishes shared room models from safety-critical engineering