The Aerospace Engineer Myth

Abstract

A myth is a falsehood that people chose to believe and embellish. A common myth, Aerospace engineers design expensive products, is easily discredited. Not commonly recog- nized is the aerospace engineers' ability to solve difficult prob- lems with tools ranging from system engineering to neural networks. For example, today the U.S. airline industry is losing $5 billion a year because commercial airlines wait in queues and fly dog-legs between takeoff and landing, in compliance with 40-year old flight rules. In contrast, in the Fiji archipelago airplanes fly great-circle routes, guided by global-positioning satellites. For the U.S. Air Force fighters, aerospace engineers have developed an automatic flight management system that shows the pilot at all times exactly where he his and what is around him, plus runway views whenever weather or darkness obscures vision. These and other examples show how the skills and tools of aerospace engineering can improve products and save corporations from obsolescence and collapse. Technical conferences are the key to updating, motivating, and rewarding engineers.