Practical Engineering Experience in Aircraft Structural Design

Engineering analysis and design topics in a senior-level aerospace structural design course are supplemented with simple in-class demonstrations, hands-on experience in sheet-metal fabrication, and a comprehensive engineering project involving design, analysis, optimization, manufacturing, and testing of stiffened panels. Besides providing students with opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts discussed in the course, they are introduced to other important aspects of engineering such as teamwork, communication skills, time management, personal responsibility and ethics. Details of the individual experiential learning activities and the resulting outcomes are presented and discussed.