What is aeronautical engineering?
Eronautical Engineering is a specialized engineering stream that deals with the designing, manufacturing, testing and maintenance of aircraft in commercial aviation and defense sectors. Unlike Aerospace Engineering, it concentrates on the flying vehicles functioning within the earth’s atmosphere and not in space. These flying vehicles include jet airplanes, military aircraft and helicopters. A course in Aeronautical Engineering encompasses the study of advanced level Physics and Mathematics with emphasis on Thermodynamics, Propulsion Systems, Fluid Mechanics, Applied Mathematics and Aero Dynamics.
Aeronautical engineering is a branch of aerospace engineering, though some people use the two terms interchangeably. The field encompasses aircraft design, and the management of the physical forces that act on aircraft. These primarily include the sciences of propulsion and aerodynamics. Many would also consider that aeronautical engineering covers the development and selection of materials and equipment that are utilized on aircraft. In short, it is a broad field that intersects with many other disciplines. Aerodynamics is at the heart of aeronautical engineering. This is the study of the relationship between air and solid materials. Aeronautical engineers place particular emphasis on the design of airfoils, more commonly known as wings. An airfoil is a device that uses its shape to produce lift when moved through air, thereby counteracting the force of gravity. Moreover, by changing the shape of an airfoil in flight, either by bending it, or by attaching smaller, movable airfoils, th
AE is the discipline primarily associated with the design, test and evaluation, construction, and performance of aircraft and spacecraft systems and their supporting technologies. Aeronautical engineering focuses on those systems that operate within the Earth’s atmosphere, while astronautics focuses on systems that operate in space. (The transition from air to space is somewhat controversial, and happens roughly at altitudes of 50 – 100 kilometers, depending on the application.) A simple rule of thumb is that if it uses a jet or propeller, it’s aeronautics; if it requires a rocket because there isn’t enough air to use for fuel or lift, it’s astronautics. Back to Top History and Background Without too much exaggeration, one could say that aerospace engineering has been a dream of human civilization since the origins of civilization itself. Toy gliders and bird replicas have been found in Egyptian tombs; legends of people who have learned to build wings and fly span the world’s cultures.
Broadly speaking, it is the branch of engineering that deals with the design and construction of aircraft. This can range from the cutting-edge technology of today’s modern fighter aircraft, with sustained cruising speeds well over the speed of sound, to aircraft design to carry many hundreds of people thousands of miles around the world in comparative luxury and with extraordinary efficiency. However, aeronautical engineering is more than that. Aeronautical engineers are needed in the construction of modern buildings, and in the analysis of the behaviour of spacecraft within the Earth’s (and other planetary bodies’) atmosphere. Other products requiring their input include missiles, rockets, helicopters, turbines and experimental engines, spacecraft and high-speed racing cars and catamarans.
