'Whole Aircraft Design: So What?' - Ethos

'Whole Aircraft Design: So What' - A new Aircraft Design Text Book. The following are the section headings from Chapter 2 that is very short but summarises the ethos of the book.

i) Good, Robust Requirements are Critical

A wonderfully designed aircraft with well executed development programme is likely to fail commercially if the design requirements are poor or wrong.

ii) Think Broad, Rather than Narrow

Design for the market (maybe multiple markets) rather than a single customer

iii) Whole Aircraft Design is Not Deterministic

There is no single correct answer for a single set of design requirements - there are many design levers and choices to set as well as the effects of judgement, compromise and house style

iv) Keep Your Eyes on the Prize - ‘So What?

Customers do not buy Aerodynamic, Structural or Propulsion efficiency - they want something to make them a profit.

v) Keep the Analysis Level Consistent and as Simple as Possible to Deliver a Robust Result

More complexity and detail can often cloud the understanding of the results. Dive into complexity where needed and bring the conclusions back out the consistent analysis level.

vi) ‘There is nothing New Under the Sun’

It is very rare to find something (or something very similar) that has not been done before - use the knowledge gained from that previous work - it may not be in aerospace.

vii) Always Calibrate Your Design Models with Known Representative Aircraft

If your design model cannot accurately model an existing known aircraft, how can you trust it with something new?

viii) Take Expert Advice and Then Do What You Think Best

Subject Matter Experts tend to view Aircraft Design from the perspective of own discipline. Their advice is extremely useful, but the Whole Aircraft Designer needs to take a broader view

ix) Technologies Rarely Deliver All of their Promise

Real world practicalities (technical, certification and operational) always get in the way to some extent

x) Look for Optimum Benefits vs Technology Shopping List vs Risk/Cost

What technologies (or architectural choices) buy their way on at an aircraft level (So What?)