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The Origins of Aerospace Engineering Degree Courses

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The Origins of Aerospace Engineering Degree Courses Contributed paper Introduction Theorigins of the aerospaceindustry go back The origins of manycenturies. Everyone is familiar with the aerospace engineering storyof Icaruswho having designed a pairof wings,attempted to ¯y.Hewas successfulbut degree courses ¯ewtooclose to the sun,whereupon the adhesiveused as wingfastening melted due to E.C.P. Ransom and thermalradiation and his ¯ ightended in A.W. Self disaster.At the timethis wouldhave been regardedas science® ction,but clearly there was someawareness of aerodynamics(for wingdesign), adhesives and thermal radiation. The authors Inretrospect, it isapparent that before E.C.P. Ransom and A.W. Self are at Kingston University, successfulman carrying powered ¯ ightcould London, UK bedemonstrated, there had been a periodof intensestudy including experimental and Keywords theoreticalanalysis. The Royal Aeronautical Society,formed in 1866, precededthe ®rst Higher education, Aerospace engineering ¯ightby some37 years.As alearnedsociety it encouragedthe discoveryand exchange of Abstract knowledgenecessary for successful heavier The development of degree courses specically designed than air¯ ight. for aerospace engineers is described in relation to the Orvilleand Wilbur Wright, contrary to change in needs of the industry since the demonstration of popularunderstanding, were extremely powered ight. The impact of two world wars and political talentedresearch workers as wellas decisions on the way universities have been able to meet competentdesigners. T oimprovetheir the demand for graduates is discussed. The effect of these understandingof wingaerodynamics they changes is examined in relation to the type of education builta windtunnel, a replicaof whichis in the received by current graduates compared with early ShuttleworthCollection at OldW arden,they courses. studiedbird ¯ ightintensively in orderto developa successfulaerodynamic control Electronic access system,using wing warping, and they The current issue and full text archive of this journal is designedand built a reciprocatingengine available at whichhad a powerto weightratio of 12 lb/HP http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0002-2667.htm (7.3 Kg/Kw). Thiswas superiorto anything thenavailable. Ina letterwritten 2 years beforetheir ® rstdemonstration of ¯ight Wilburwrote ª . Itispossible to ¯ywithout motors,but not without knowledgeand skillº (Marvinand McFarland, 1953). It isclearthat learningis anessential and integralconstituent of asuccessfulaerospace industry.Knowledgehad been sought for centuriesprior to the ®rstsuccessful ¯ ightand the thirst forknowledge seems today to be unquenchable. Thispaper ® rstconsiders the historyand developmentof the industry,including its changingneeds. It isfollowed by the developmentof aerospaceeducation, AircraftEngineering andAerospace T echnology includingthe philosophyand course content Volume 74 ·Number4 ·2002 ·pp.355 –364 q MCB UPLimited ·ISSN 0002-2667 of universitycourses. Finally, the impactof DOI 10.1108/00022660210434433 thesechanges is discussed. 355 Theorigins of aerospace engineering degree courses Aircraft Engineeringand Aerospace Technology E.C.P.Ransomand A.W. Self Volume74 ·Number4 ·2002· 355–364 TheUK industry with somesuspicion. By the endof the war in 1918, aviation hademerged as asigni®cant Therepor tof the ®rstsuccessful ¯ ightwas an militaryforce.The formation in the United inspirationfor many to attempt to emulatethe Kingdomof the RoyalAir Force (RAF) was a Wrightbrothers. In Europe, particularly in sealof recognitionof this fact andled to Franceand England, new designsevolved and detailedconsideration of the roleof aviation in by 1910 manysuccesses had been registered, warfare, andits effect uponaircraft design. forexample the ®rstcrossing of the English Verylittle thoughthad been given to the Channel.The commercial possibilities were developmentof civilaviation andthe beginningto emergeand in the UKthe ®rst Europeanslagged behind advances in the aircraft manufacturingcompanies were set up. USA. Amongthe earliestwere Airco, later to Inorder to illustrateemployment trends, becomede Havilland,British and Colonial, the numberof programmesundertaken by later to becomethe BristolAeroplane oneaircraft organisation(Sopwith, Hawker, Companyand Vickers. Before 1920 Sopwith, Hawker Siddeley,and British Aerospace, later Hawkers,Armstrong Whitworth, Avro, Kingston)over the period1912 to 1988 has Blackburn,Supermarine and English Electric beenconsidered (Fozard, 1987). Atthe hadall commencedproduction. These birthof the industry,two orthree projects companiesand others were to mergeseverally mightbe started in one year andthere would in1960 to formtwo airframecompanies, beperhaps one or two otherprojects in Hawker SiddeleyAviation and the British progress.Political factors had a crucial AircraftCorporation (Stamper, 1984). In in¯uence in the formof WW1, butas is 1978 thesetwo companiestogether with shown,politics have always hada signi®cant ScottishAviation merged to createBritish if notdominant in¯ uence on the development Aerospace,which in turnmerged with the ofthe UKindustry.Atthe endof hostilities, GeneralElectric Company to formBritish productionof militaryaircraft ceasedand AerospaceSystems plc in 1998. Whilstthis employmentprospects declined. By 1925 was takingplace international links were being demandhad started to recoverand new establishedwhich led to the developmentof a designswere being produced. By the early numberof aircraft includingConcorde, thirtiesat any onetime there might be up to Jaguarand T ornado.Airbus Industries was ®ve orperhapssix projects in progress but createdby the comingtogether of aircraft newaircraft designswere started much less companiesin several countries principally frequently.Bythe endof the thirties,the France,Germany and the UnitedKingdom. increasinginternational tension which OtherU Kaircraft companieswhich precededWW2 ledto increaseddemand for remainedoutside the BritishAerospace militaryaircraft. Followingthe endof WW2 Systemsorganisation included Short andthe adventof the ªcoldwarº military Brothers,which moved to NorthernIreland projectscontinued but at areducedrate. The after WW2. In1960 Westlands,which started noticeablefactor isthat duringthis periodand to specialisein helicopter design and upto the present,the numberof projects manufactureafter WW2, absorbedthe startedreduced but the projectlength helicopterdivisions of Saunders± Roe,the increased.T oillustratethis trendFigures 1, 2 BristolAeroplane Company and Fairey and3, developedfrom Fozard, 1987, show Aviation.More recently W estlandhelicopters that the averagelength of projectclimbs have mergedwith Augusta,an Italian steadilyfrom two yearsin 1912 to almost30 helicoptermanufacturer to forma large yearsby 1988. TheHarrier, in one form or Europeanorganisation. Handley Page which another,from conception to the endof declineda requestto merge,ceased operation manufacture,is expected to have alifeof in1962. Thereason for these changes are around40 yearsif the early prototypesand beyondthe scopeof this paper,but the effect demonstratorsi.e. the P1127 andKestrel are uponthe changingemployment and skill included.At anationallevel the numberof needsof organisationshas hada signi®cant UKgovernmentfunded projects decreased in¯uence on the provisionof educational dramaticallyover the period1946 ±1984. courses. [Figure4], (Stamper,1984). Atthe commencementof hostilitiesin Asaconsequenceof the increasing 1914, the Britishmilitary regardedaviation complexityof aircraft, the numbersemployed 356 Theorigins of aerospaceengineering degree courses Aircraft Engineeringand Aerospace Technology E.C.P.Ransomand A.W. Self Volume74 ·Number4 ·2002· 355–364 Figure 1 AverageProject Length -1912–1939 Figure 2 AverageProject Length 1940–1960 Figure 3 AverageProject Length -1961–1988 indesign of® cesincreased, and as the dependingupon the defencepolicy at the time knowledgebase widened the numberof andthe levelof internationaltension. technicaldepartments grew (Fozard, 1987) Morerecently, the trendhas beenfor Figure5. Employmentprospects ¯ uctuated projectsto becomeinternational. The cost of militaryand civil aircraft isnowso great it is Figure 4 Number ofUK Funded Programmes (Fozard, 1987) Figure 5 TechnicalDepartments at Hawker Aircraft/ BAe, Kingston (Fozard,1987) 357 Theorigins of aerospace engineering degree courses Aircraft Engineeringand Aerospace Technology E.C.P.Ransomand A.W. Self Volume74 ·Number4 ·2002· 355–364 beyondthe ®nancialcapacity ofacompany con®ned to Mechanical,Civil andElectrical basedsolely in one country .Thusin Europe Engineering.Aeronautical subjects in withinthe last twenty years,aircraft undergraduatecourses were not introduced manufacturershave soughtpartnerships, for untilthe early 1920’s.East LondonCollege example,Airbus, or mergers, for example pioneeredthe developmentswhere a Diploma Westlands± Augusta. was awarded.In 1922 the Universityof Asthe industryexpanded, specialist Londonintroduced aeronautical subjects componentcompanies evolved. The earliest withintheir BSc(Eng) programme. exampleof this isof courseRolls-Royce PLC. The® rstChair in Aeronautical Engineering Manyother organisations are major suppliers was establishedat Cambridge,and optional to the aircraft industryof componentssuch as papersin aeronautical subjects were landinggear, aircraft ®ttings, introducedinto undergraduate courses in instrumentation,combustion equipment (for 1921. ImperialCollege appointed its ®rst gasturbines) and perhaps most signi® cantly professorin Aeronautical Engineering in 1920 avionicequipment.
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