Aerospace Engineering Seminar

This presentation examines mistakes that occur regularly in airplane design. The designs that result from these missteps fail. The failures can be technical, leading to machines that refuse to fly or are never completed. The failure can also be one of effectiveness; the aircraft is technically successful as a flying machine, but is economically unviable or unable to perform its mission. The goal of the presentation is to describe the most common of these failure types and to provide, through historical example, insight enabling recognition and avoidance of the most common traps early in the design process. The presenter, Mr. Barnaby Wainfan, is technical fellow for Aerodynamics Design at Northrop Grumman Corporation.