DWC FLIGHT TEST EDUCATION AT UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL IN REALIZATION OF CDIO INITIATIVES

Most undergraduate aeronautical engineering programs do not contain a significant amount of flight test engineering experience. In line with the CDIO philosophy of engineering education, Daniel Webster College has incorporated flight test education into its Flight Dynamics I (Aircraft Performance) and Flight Dynamics II (Aircraft Stability and Control) courses. Three flight tests plans are designed and executed by students in Flight Dynamics I to investigate and analyze three aircraft performance topics such as pitot-static calibration, saw tooth climb, and turn performance. Also, three flight tests are designed and flown in Flight Dynamics II to investigate three aircraft stability and control topics such as neutral point determination, lateral-directional static stability, roll controllability, phugoid dynamics and Dutch roll dynamics. In the past two years, we have learned several valuable lessons and made a few adjustments. This paper presents our experiences in this area and makes recommendations to other universities that might be interested in establishing flight test engineering in their undergraduate aeronautical/aerospace engineering programs. Highlights of the effectiveness of this experiential learning are presented.