Professional Documents
Culture Documents
FIGHTER AIRCRAFT
Burt Dicht
Managing Director
ASME Knowledge and
Community Sector
1
TODAY’S AGENDA
• Fighter Aircraft Requirements
• The Evolution of Stealth
Technology
• The Advanced Tactical Fighter
• The Design Process
• The Future of Aircraft Design
• Opportunities for ME’s in
Aerospace
• ASME
2
MY BACKGROUND
• Currently Director, ASME
Managing Director, Knowledge & Community
• Started out as an ASME student member -
just like you. A member for 27 years.
• BS Temple University, Philadelphia
• MA, CSUN, Northridge, CA
• Staff of Congressman Jon Fox (PA/13)
• Northrop Grumman – Lead Engineer
T-38 Talon • F-5E/F Tiger II • F-20 Tigershark • YF-23
Advanced Tactical Fighter, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
• Rockwell Space Systems Division (Boeing)
Space Shuttle Program
• NASA Kennedy Space Center
Summer Intern - Space Shuttle Launch Facility Design
3
MODERN FIGHTER
AIRCRAFT REQUIREMENTS
6
THE EVOLUTION OF
STEALTH
DESIGN IN THE 50’S AND 60’S
• Stealth in aircraft design does
not mean invisible – it means
“Low Observable,” reducing the
radar cross section.
• Little effort in the 50’s and 60’s.
Integrating low observable
aspects meant compromising
performance – so designers
concentrated on speed,
maneuverability, and weapons.
• A-12/SR-71 has rounded lines,
wing/body blending, conical
center bodies, fuselage chine
and canted twin fins to reduce
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
7
radar reflectivity.
RADAR CROSS SECTION
NORTHROP – GRUMMAN
B-2 SPIRIT
• Length – 69ft
• Height – 17ft
• Wingspan – 172 ft
• Max Speed – Mach .85
•Range 6300 nm
• Armament – 40,000 lbs in
internal weapons bays
•Powerplant – four GE F-118-
GE-100 turbofans – 17,300 lbs
12
DEVELOPING A TRULY
STEALTH FIGHTER
WHY THE NEED?
• Late 1970’s – Soviets building far more fighters than US
• Massive Soviet surface to air missile threat
• USAF looking to technology to counter Soviet numerical
advantage
• In 1981 USAF issued a Request for Information (RFI) for the
Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF)
• A RFI does not offer any money or production contracts, it
defines mission, the threat, service entry date and new features
that are desirable and feasible
• Supercruise (the ability to achieve supersonic flight without
afterburner) and stealth were considered essential components,
although stealth was still considered an exotic technology 13
DEVELOPING A TRULY
STEALTH FIGHTER
THE ADVANCED TACTICAL FIGHTER (ATF) PROGRAM
• Air Force opts to build a truly air-to-air fighter to follow the F-15
Eagle air superiority fighter - designed to enter service in mid 90’s
• In 1983 USAF issues Request for Proposals (RFP) for ATF and the
Joint Advanced Fighter Engine (JAFE)
• General Electric and Pratt & Whitney vie for engine contract
• Lockheed, Rockwell, Grumman, McDonnell Douglas, General
Dynamics, Boeing and Northrop vie for aircraft contract
• McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics were thought to have
the inside track because of F-15 and F-16
• But stealth proved to be the deciding factor. Both Northrop and
Lockheed fell back on their stealth experience and proposed
14
stealthy fighters that could perform as well as non-stealthy fighters
DEVELOPING A TRULY
STEALTH FIGHTER
THE ADVANCED TACTICAL FIGHTER (ATF) PROGRAM
• In October 1986 the USAF awards the contracts to
build prototype aircraft to Northrop and Lockheed
• Northrop teamed with McDonnell Douglas to build the
YF-23A
• Lockheed - Boeing - General Dynamics comprised the
other team to build the YF-22A.
• Aircraft first flights in the Fall of 1990.
• Lockheed Martin awarded contract in April 1991. The
F-22 is now in production.
15
YF-23A BLACK WIDOW II
•Wing Span 43.6 ft • Two Prototypes were built
•Length 67.4 ft • PAV 1 - two Pratt & Whitney YF119
•Height 13.9 ft engines
•Wing area 900 sq. ft.
• PAV 2 - two GE YF120 engines
•Top Speed Mach 2+
•Range 800 Nm
•Altitude 65,000 ft
•Air Superiority
•Low Observable
•Super-cruise - mach
1+ without afterburner
16
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
AN AIRFRAME MANUFACTURER
• Responsible for the design,
manufacture and integration of aircraft
and aircraft sub-assemblies
F/A-18 Carrier
Takeoff
Boeing (McDonnell Douglas/Northrop)
F/A-18F Super Hornet 17
AIRCRAFT DESIGN PROCESS
• Customer Requirements
• Conceptual Design Phase
General size and configuration of the aircraft •
aerodynamics studies • thrust loading • wing
loading • wing sweep • general body, wing and
tail configurations
• Preliminary Design Phase
Best conceptual design is chosen for testing •
inlet/engine/airframe integration • major loads
and stresses • weight • stability and control •
internal arrangement
• Detailed Design Phase
Configuration frozen • Detailed structural design •
Detailed system design and installation •
Production drawings
• Development Phase
Manufacturing and assembly
18
AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING
GROUPS
• Aerodynamics
• Advanced Design
• Avionics (airborne electronics)
• Crew Station (cockpit)
• ECS (environmental control system)
• Electrical
• Flight Test
• Fuel Systems
• Hydraulic Systems
• Propulsion Integration (engines)
• Reliability and Maintainability
• Safety
• Structures
• Vehicle Management (flight control)
19
CONFIGURATION/
SYSTEMS
INTEGRATION
• Responsible for overall internal
and external systems
arrangement
• Work with every design group
and coordinate and integrate
their designs into a single
aircraft design
• Final Product:
F-20A Tigershark Inboard Profile Drawing •
Aperture Arrangement • Three
Views • Zone Drawings
20
INBOARD PROFILE
23
LOOK WHAT HAPPENS WHEN
DESIGN GROUPS HAVE THEIR WAY
24
ENGINEERING JOB
DESCRIPTIONS
• Design - From Concept to Production
• Good understanding of engineering principles
• See things in 3-D (Geometry, Graphics, Kinematics)
• Like to solve problems, come up with better ways of doing things
• Analysis - Verify engineering designs (Stress, Thermal,
Aerodynamics, Dynamics)
• Engineering Theory and Mathematics
• Problem solving
• Test - Verify functionality of design
• Basic understanding of engineering theory and design principles
• Lab work and strict guidelines and procedures
• Operations- Maintaining and operating final product
• Basic understanding of engineering design and systems
• Understand how and why things work
25
YF-23A BLACK
WIDOW II
26
LOCKHEED
MARTIN F-22A
RAPTOR
•Wing Span 44.5 ft
•Length 62 ft 1 in
•Wing area 830 sq. ft.
•Top Speed Mach 2+
•Range 800 Nm
•Altitude 65,000 ft
•Air Superiority
•Low Observable
•Two Pratt & Whitney
F119-PW-100 Turbofans
@ 35,000 lbs 27
LOCKHEED MARTIN X-35 (F-35)
JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER
28
Bureau of Labor Statistics -
Aerospace Outlook
Employment Change 2004 - 2014
•Aerospace engineers held about 76,000 jobs in 2004.
•Aerospace engineers are expected to have slower-than-average growth in
employment over the projection period. Although increases in the number and
scope of military aerospace projects likely will generate new jobs, increased
efficiency will limit the number of new jobs in the design and production of
commercial aircraft. Even with slow growth, the employment outlook for
aerospace engineers through 2014 appears favorable: the number of degrees
granted in aerospace engineering declined for many years because of a
perceived lack of opportunities in this field, and, although this trend is reversing,
new graduates continue to be needed to replace aerospace engineers who retire
or leave the occupation for other reasons.
•Mechanical engineers held about 226,000 jobs in 2004.
•Employment of mechanical engineers is projected to grow at an average rate for
all occupations though 2014.
29
AEROSPACE & ME
SALARIES
• Average starting salary for Bachelor’s degree
candidates in aerospace engineering is
$53,471 a year. (2006)
• Average starting salary for Bachelor’s degree
candidates in mechanical engineering is
$52,165 a year. (2006)
30
THE FUTURE
31
THE FUTURE
AIRBUS A380
32
THE FUTURE
SCALED COMPOSITES
SPACESHIP ONE
(Building Spaceship Two for Virgin Galactic)
http://www.scaled.com/index.html 35
THE FUTURE
38
THE FUTURE
41
AEROSPACE WEB SITES
• AOL Hometown - Aerospace Job Search
http://hometown.aol.com/aerojobs/Welcome.html
• Nation Job - Job database and search engine
http://www.nationjob.com/aviation/
• NASA - Job and internship information
http://www.nasajobs.nasa.gov/
http://www.nasajobs.nasa.gov/stud_opps/
• Aerospace Mall - A directory of many aerospace/aviation
related companies (From airframe to suppliers, from military
to general aviation)
http://www.aerospacemall.com/
• Internships
http://www.Tech-Interns.com
42
DOING YOUR HOMEWORK
NASA to lose 8,600 jobs with shuttle retirement.
The New York Times (4/2, A24, Leary) reports, "Retiring the space
shuttle in 2010 could result in the loss of 8,000 jobs among NASA
contractors and 600 Civil Service workers at the agency, NASA said
Tuesday." Associate administrator for space operations William
Gerstenmaier said that "the job losses might appear worse than they
would end up," because "a potentially large number of employees could
transfer to new openings developing, building and operating
Constellation spacecraft and rockets." Private companies and retirees
are other areas that might lessen the impact of the job losses. The two
facilities hardest hit would be the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the
Michoud Assembly facility, losing 6,400 of 8,000 and 1,300 of 1,900
employees respectively.
43
MORE ABOUT THE
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
ASME’s Professional
Practice Curriculum –
Industry Series
http://professionalpractice.asme.org/
The Aerospace Module:
• Industry Scope
• Industry Sectors
• Industry Operations
• Job Functions
• Industry Outlook
• Mapping Your Career
• Industry Resources
44
ASME STUDENT MEMBERSHIP
Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, today ASME
International is a nonprofit educational and technical organization serving a
worldwide membership of 100,000 members and 20,000 student members.
ASME offers students a wide range of technical and non technical benefits that
will enable them to grow professionally, learn about the engineering profession,
and gain valuable skills needed in today;s highly competitive work environment.
Dues, $25 per year (10/1 thru 9/30) Freshmen can join for free.
45
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Burt Dicht, Managing Director
Knowledge and Community Sector
dichtb@asme.org
ASME Headquarters
Three Park Avenue, M/S 23S1
New York, NY 10016
212-591-7074
46