MEng Aerospace Engineering

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Aircraft Performance & Stability is a multi-disciplinary module on fixed-wing aircraft. It teaches basics of aerodynamics, propulsion, flight mechanics and the structure of the environment to develop an aircraft performance model that can be applied to a subsonic commercial aircraft. It covers fundamental concepts of the rigid-body aircraft and its degrees of freedom. The flight conditions considered include ground manoeuvre, take-off and landing, cruise condition, turning, and descent. The concept of static stability and trim, including calculation of the aircraft neutral points and aircraft manoeuvrability characteristics are also taught. By the end of the module, the student should have an understanding of why aircraft are designed differently depending upon the mission they are required to fly. The unit sets the context for future units of aircraft design, flight dynamics, and aerospace propulsion. An emphasis is placed on not only how to solve a problem, but how to construct the problem in the first place – a key requirement of an engineering degree. This means an ability to identify the objective, the dependent and independent variables, and the physics-based mathematical relationships that are needed to solve the problem.

The aims of this unit are: 1. To teach students to apply theory of rigid body mechanics to assess the static stability of an aircraft and build physics-based models to calculate the performance of an aircraft at all stages of its mission. 2. To equip students with the basic knowledge of flight mechanics, aircraft anatomy, and flight operations to be able to explain a flight mission and justify the aircraft performance in each stage. 3. To develop an understanding of the design process by which new jet civil transport aircraft are produced and the technical, commercial, legal and environmental constraints that affect design decisions.

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