• Mr. Philip Van Seeters
  • Boeing Commercial Airplanes
  • 113 McBryde Hall
  • 4:00 p.m.
  • Faculty Host: Dr. Rakesh Kapania

An airplane is the compromise of the reaction to a wealth of requirements and the product of numerous disciplines and systems interacting in unison and harmony. The airplane designer's responsibility is to synthesize all requirements and disciplines to arrive at an integrated solution. Successful design engineers carry a set of fundamental tools which help them understand the impact on the integrated vehicle that result from (changes to) a given system. But like any tool, the tool is only as good as its user. One such tool is the payload-range diagram; it communicates mission capabilities and is sensitive to weight changes, aerodynamic efficiency, and propulsion efficiency. It can be used to tailor a vehicle to a range of missions, and is useful in devising a family plan of aircraft. This seminar will dive into the nuts and bolts of the payload-range diagram and focuses on the application to commercial aircraft.