1 Engineering Systems: An Aircraft Perspective

Engineering has, in recent decades, taken on the development of systems of larger and larger scale with increasing complexity and longer product or system lifetimes. Many examples can be found in transportation, defense and power generation. Such systems, because of their size and complexity often have human or social considerations that must be accounted for, in their design. This paper will treat aircraft as exemplars of Engineering Systems with the objective of providing a better understanding to help guide research and educational undertakings. The analysis considers a framework comprising three dimensions-Technical, Social and Lifecycle- each composed of substructures which characterize aircraft. An observation is put forth that interrelationships within and between the substructures of these dimensions, and among the dimensions, are critical. With the engineering systems framework in mind, consideration is given to implications for research and educational undertakings in engineering system, illustrated by examples drawn from the authors ’ recent experience. Th