AIAA 2001–0868 From Pumps to Propellers: Developing an Aircraft Design Course for Mechanical Engineering Students

This papers discusses ongoing development of an aircraft design course designed for mechanical engineering students. Almost without exception, aerospace engineering departments operate in conjunction, collaboration, or coexistence with mechanical engineering departments at most major American universities. On the other hand, the majority of mechanical engineering departments operate alone; i.e., without aerospace engineering departments, thus limiting the undergraduate curricula to traditional mechanical engineering topics. Also, 23 states do not offer any form of accredited education in aerospace engineering, restricting native students of those states interested in this field to either seeking education outside of their home state (often not an option) or being content with something " close enough, " often times mechanical engineering. A previous paper (Jacob, 2000) discussed different means of introducing aerospace engineering oriented education into a mechanical engineering undergraduate program, including course design, extracurricular activities, and research. This paper focuses on the development aspects of a course in aircraft and spacecraft design oriented towards mechanical engineering students. Experiences encountered during the introduction of an aerospace course in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Kentucky are used as input. Overview T HIS papers discusses ongoing development of an aircraft design course designed for mechanical engineering students. Almost without exception, aerospace engineering departments operate in conjunction , collaboration, or coexistence with mechanical engineering departments at most major American universities. On the other hand, the majority of mechanical engineering departments operate alone; i.e., without aerospace engineering departments, thus limiting the undergraduate curricula to traditional mechanical engineering topics. Also, 23 states do not offer any form of accredited education in aerospace engineering, restricting native students of those states interested in this field to either seeking education outside of their home state (often not an option) or being content with something " close enough, " often times mechanical engineering. A previous paper (Jacob, 2000) discussed different means of introducing aerospace engineering oriented education into a mechanical engineering undergraduate program, including course design, extracurricular activities, and research. This paper fo-cuses on the development aspects of a course in aircraft and spacecraft design oriented towards mechanical engineering students. Experiences encountered during the introduction of an aerospace course in the Me-* Assistant professor; senior member AIAA. Kentucky are used as input. The course design at UK is constructed around a basic introduction to the science of aerodynamic design along with a design-build-test approach (when applicable). There are two basic ways to structure an …