Aerospace, a term that is commonly misunderstood, is a combination of aeronautics (the science of flight within the planet's atmosphere) and space flight (the movement of a vehicle beyond the atmosphere). In other words, aerospace, which primarily deal with aerostructures as well as space flight, embodies the full spectrum of flight.

The aerospace industry as a whole manufactures the aerospace structures , components, and equipment for things that fly. No single company builds a complete flight vehicle. A production program is organized as a team of specialized manufacturers that each contribute individual parts, components, systems and subsystems. These eventually come together at the team leader's plant. Known as the prime contractor or systems integrator, the team leader manages all aspects and procedures of assembling hundreds of assemblies and products into an end product - aircraft, missiles, or spacecraft.

Aerospace and CNC manufacturing demand a very broad range of skills and facilities. No single company builds an entire flight system. Companies of aerospace manufacturing generally specialize in a major area like airframes and structures, spacecraft, propulsion units, airborne systems, and ground support systems.

Within each of these broad areas are scores of sub-specialties. Production of a major flight vehicle -a commercial jetliner, for example - could involve several thousand subcontractors and suppliers organized in "tiers" with increased pressure on first tier suppliers to bring design, investment, and certification qualifications to the table.

The production group is led by a prime contractor, sometimes known as a systems integrator, whose facility is the site for final assembly, rollout, and delivery of the vehicle. Lower-tier manufacturers deliver subassemblies to the plants of high-tier producers where the assemblies are integrated with other assemblies to become subsystems and then systems. Fully tested systems then flow to the prime contractor's assembly line where they are integrated into the flight vehicle under a carefully developed manufacturing plan.

Major aerospace production programs, whether government-sponsored or commercial, could involve several top-tier principal subcontractors, including some from foreign nations. Work-sharing offers many advantages: it broadens the pool of skills and facilities and helps compress production time. Competition among subcontractors provides the best in performance, quality, at the lowest cost. When the partner is a foreign company, it offers market access for the end product that might not otherwise be available.

Fast-paced exchange of information between the supply base and the prime contractor, high-speed delivery, and rigorous processes to squeeze out unnecessary costs and wasteful processes characterize today's manufacturing process. Known as lean manufacturing, moving assembly lines, and accompanying lean techniques have aided this effort tremendously over the past several years. For more information on aerospace engineering, please visit www.arnoldeng.com to learn more.

Aerospace, a term that is commonly misunderstood, is a combination of aeronautics (the science of flight within the planet's atmosphere) and space flight (the movement of a vehicle beyond the atmosphere). In other words, aerospace, which primarily deal with aerostructures as well as space flight, embodies the full spectrum of flight.

The aerospace industry as a whole manufactures the aerospace structures , components, and equipment for things that fly. No single company builds a complete flight vehicle. A production program is organized as a team of specialized manufacturers that each contribute individual parts, components, systems and subsystems. These eventually come together at the team leader's plant. Known as the prime contractor or systems integrator, the team leader manages all aspects and procedures of assembling hundreds of assemblies and products into an end product - aircraft, missiles, or spacecraft.

Aerospace and CNC manufacturing demand a very broad range of skills and facilities. No single company builds an entire flight system. Companies of aerospace manufacturing generally specialize in a major area like airframes and structures, spacecraft, propulsion units, airborne systems, and ground support systems.

Within each of these broad areas are scores of sub-specialties. Production of a major flight vehicle -a commercial jetliner, for example - could involve several thousand subcontractors and suppliers organized in "tiers" with increased pressure on first tier suppliers to bring design, investment, and certification qualifications to the table.

The production group is led by a prime contractor, sometimes known as a systems integrator, whose facility is the site for final assembly, rollout, and delivery of the vehicle. Lower-tier manufacturers deliver subassemblies to the plants of high-tier producers where the assemblies are integrated with other assemblies to become subsystems and then systems. Fully tested systems then flow to the prime contractor's assembly line where they are integrated into the flight vehicle under a carefully developed manufacturing plan.

Major aerospace production programs, whether government-sponsored or commercial, could involve several top-tier principal subcontractors, including some from foreign nations. Work-sharing offers many advantages: it broadens the pool of skills and facilities and helps compress production time. Competition among subcontractors provides the best in performance, quality, at the lowest cost. When the partner is a foreign company, it offers market access for the end product that might not otherwise be available.

Fast-paced exchange of information between the supply base and the prime contractor, high-speed delivery, and rigorous processes to squeeze out unnecessary costs and wasteful processes characterize today's manufacturing process. Known as lean manufacturing, moving assembly lines, and accompanying lean techniques have aided this effort tremendously over the past several years. For more information on aerospace engineering, please visit www.arnoldeng.com to learn more.

Aerostructures engineering is the branch of engineering that involves the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft.

In general, aerospace structures engineering has broken into two major branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. The former deals with craft that stay within Earth's atmosphere, and the latter deals with craft that operate outside of Earth's atmosphere. While "aeronautical" was the original term, the broader "aerospace" has superseded it in usage, as flight technology advanced to include craft operating in outer space.

Modern aircraft undergo severe conditions such as differences in atmospheric pressure and temperature, or heavy structural load applied upon vehicle components. Consequently, they are usually the products of various technologies including aerodynamics, avionics, materials science and propulsion. These technologies are collectively known as aerospace engineering. Because of the complexity of the field, aerospace engineering is conducted by a team of engineers, each specializing in their own branches of science. The development and CNC manufacturing of a flight vehicle demands careful balance and compromise between abilities, performance, available technology and costs.

List of aero-structures engineering topics
Fluid mechanics - the study of fluid flow around objects. Specifically aerodynamics concerning the flow of air over bodies such as wings or through objects such as wind tunnels (see also lift and aeronautics).
Astrodynamics - the study of orbital mechanics including prediction of orbital elements when given a select few variables. While few schools in the United States teach this at the undergraduate level, several have graduate programs covering this topic (usually in conjunction with the Physics department of said college or university).
Statics and Dynamics (engineering mechanics) - the study of movement, forces, moments in mechanical systems.
Mathematics - because aerospace engineering heavily involves mathematics.
Electrotechnology - the study of electronics within engineering.
Propulsion - the energy to move a vehicle through the air (or in outer space) is provided by internal combustion engines, jet engines and turbomachinery, or rockets (see also propeller and spacecraft propulsion). A more recent addition to this module is electric propulsion and ion propulsion. For additional information on aerostructures and aerospace engineering, please visit www.arnoldeng.com to learn more.

Control engineering is the study of mathematical modeling of the dynamic behavior of systems and designing them, usually using feedback signals, so that their dynamic behavior is desirable (stable, without large excursions, with minimum error) applies to the dynamic behavior of aircraft, spacecraft, propulsion systems, and subsystems that exist on aerospace vehicles. Aerospace structures - design of the physical configuration of the craft to withstand the forces encountered during flight. Aerospace engineering aims to keep structures lightweight by way of computer numerical controlled CNC manufacturing and other processes.

Materials science is related to structures; aerospace engineering also studies the materials of which the aero-structures are to be built. New materials with very specific properties are invented, or existing ones are modified to improve their performance.
Solid mechanics, which is closely related to material science is solid mechanics, deals with stress and strain analysis of the components of the vehicle. Nowadays there are several Finite Element programs such as MSC Patran/Nastran which aid engineers in the analytical and aerospace manufacturing process.

Aeroelasticity - the interaction of aerodynamic forces and structural flexibility, potentially causing flutter, divergence, etc.
Avionics - the design and programming of computer systems on board an aircraft or spacecraft and the simulation of systems.
Risk and reliability - the study of risk and reliability assessment techniques and the mathematics involved in the quantitative methods.
Noise control - the study of the mechanics of sound transfer.
Flight test - designing and executing flight test programs in order to gather and analyze performance and handling qualities data in order to determine if an aircraft meets its design and performance goals and certification requirements.

The basis of most of these elements lies in theoretical mathematics, such as fluid dynamics for aerodynamics or the equations of motion for flight dynamics. However, there is also a large empirical component. Historically, this empirical component was derived from testing of scale models and prototypes, either in wind tunnels or in the free atmosphere. More recently, advances in computing have enabled the use of computational fluid dynamics to simulate the behavior of fluid, reducing time and expense spent on wind-tunnel testing. For additional information, visit www.arnoldeng.com to learn more.

Aerostructures are a part of an aircraft's airframe. The aerostructure may include one or all of the following: fuselage, wings, tail, and flight control surfaces. Some companies specialize in building only the aerostructure while others build multiple parts for the construction of an aircraft. The design of the aerostructure can affect the entire aircraft. The different parts of the structure can be combined in different ways to produce different outcomes. Materials that are used in structures can also have an effect on the way the plane flies. Newer materials are composites and are stronger than steel and very light.

Aerospace structures are generally the same thing as the aircraft structures. Aerospace structures and designs have greatly influenced all of aircraft designs and materials. Most new composite materials were developed through aerospace technology. Both military and commercial developments have prodded the industry along. Testing continues to improve the quality of structures for rockets and planes. As with aircraft structures, some companies specialize in building only structures for rockets. Most aerospace companies manufacture more than just structures but also struts, tubes, and interior structures.

Aero-structures have a long history of materials and designs. Early designs were of wood. Wood composites like plywood and laminates replaced wood structures. Metals were used next. These were much lighter, more flexible, and stronger than wood. Metal alloys were next employed for air frames. The most common alloys used in air frames are aluminum/copper, titanium/magnesium. Steel and stainless steel are still used for parts that come under high stress. The newest materials are composites that are even lighter, stronger and tougher than any materials yet used. Carbon fiber, Kevlar, fiberglass, and polymers are the best in air frame technology today. These are being used on military planes, commercial planes, and aerospace rockets.

Aircraft Design is a high tech science that requires special training in physics and mechanics, chemistry, and metallurgy. Designs continue to follow a basic structure but improvements are made through research and testing. Bad designs will result in the failure of the aircraft. Designs must be made with care. Changing pressures, temperatures, compression, flexion, torsion, and other elements must be taken into account as an aircraft is designed. Designs undergo extensive chemical, visual, ultrasound, x-ray, and magnetic inspections. The FAA must inspect and approve every aircraft design. Strict restrictions are applied to designs and designers. Structures and designs must meet the utmost qualifications.