Aircraft Engineering in the Aerospace

Aircraft Engineering

Engineering in the Aerospace Industry

There are many areas of endeavor where engineers are a vital and necessary part of success. One of the most exciting fields to emerge over the past century, and which continues to make groundbreaking and truly life-altering advances in the modern era, is aerospace engineering. The making of air and space craft encompasses far more than might be initially thought; in addition to airplanes and space shuttles, the rockets used to deliver communication satellites into orbit and even the satellites themselves are designed by aerospace engineers. In this way, the continued use of current technologies like wireless Internet networks, television signals, and cell phones are hugely dependent on the success of aerospace engineers. The variety of different careers, opportunities, tasks, and skills that are found in the realm of aerospace engineering makes it one of the most exciting industries for prospective engineers looking forward to a rich and expanding career.

One of the most easily imaginable occupations that an aerospace engineer might be involved in is the design of new aircraft. There are a variety of skills needed for a career in aircraft design; in addition to the ability to compute highly complex figures regarding stress, weight, principles of lift, and many other factors while designing the aircraft, strong visual skills and a solid understanding of industry software is also necessary (Raymer 2006). This is important not only for the engineer to have a strong sense of the physical possibilities of a design, but also for the communication of these visualizations to others who lack any engineering expertise. Though it is often of less importance, there is also a necessity for the aircraft engineer to have a good aesthetic sense (Raymer 2006).

There are also less obvious and in some ways more technical engineering needs in the aerospace industry. The separate but related areas of propulsion, fluid mechanics, and structure are just a few of the specializations important in aerospace engineering (Garner 2002). In aerospace engineering, fluid mechanics is more accurately referred to as aerodynamics, which is also a more familiar term to many. Essentially, these engineers must study and understand the way gases -- such as air -- flow around air or space craft, adjusting the body design for stabilization, fuel efficiency, speed, or whatever else the client specifies (Garner 2002). This leads to one of the most essential skills for all engineers, including aerospace engineers -- the ability to effectively communicate with clients and with production teams is a major component of engineering work, and is often given diminished training and respect, especially in the aerospace industry (Sanders & McCormick 2002).

Equally important is the ability to work with computers, and even with computer engineers. Many issues in aerospace engineering can be best handled by computers, but specific questions need specific software capabilities to explore, and having a computer engineer that can help to design and manipulate software programs according to need requires communication of aerospace concepts and numbers in a way that the computer engineer can use (Bishop 1994). This underlines the notion that engineering does not exist in a vacuum, but rather is only useful insofar as it is utilized. The importance of computers in aerospace has only grown as the decades have passed, so full technology literacy both in utilization and in describing needs are important skills for the aerospace engineer (Bishop 1994).

One of the most important ethical considerations for aerospace engineers set forth in the Engineers Australia Code of Ethics (2000) is the necessity for engineers to keep their clients and/or employers well aware of any discoveries or developments that will have a negative impact on the project. Given the costs of development and production that most aircraft and spacecraft entail, such news is likely to be most unwelcome, yet it is the ethical obligation of the engineer to put the safety and integrity of the craft above all other concerns, even if the issues seem minor. One of the best ways to handle this with minimal conflict would be to have a clear plan and estimate of time and costs for addressing the issue when it is first brought up. In this way, the client/employer can be assured that the engineer is committed to fixing the problem, not merely causing delays and extra costs out of needless worry.