Third year Aerospace Engineering students had the opportunity to put the knowledge gained from their Flight Dynamics module into practice last month, when they visited the National Flying Laboratory Centre (NFLC) at Cranfield University.

Queen Mary is an academic partner of the Centre and all third year Aerospace Engineering students are offered this exciting opportunity.

Led by Dr Simon Place of the NFLC, the students experienced a flight on a Saab 340b+ plane, where they recorded measurements on lift and draft, aircraft performance, longitudinal and lateral dynamics stability and more – processing the data using techniques they have learnt at Queen Mary and the NFLC.

The students also met Dr Christos Mourouzidis in Cranfield's Centre for Propulsion and Thermal Power Engineering, who showed them different types of engines and operations.

“It was a hands-on experience demonstrating how the performance and handling qualities of a real aircraft are measured,” said student Umut Kusne. “This unforgettable experience was not only intellectually stimulating but also deeply informative.”

Dr Eldad Avital, Flight Dynamics module organiser at Queen Mary, commented: “I was happy to see so many students joining this course and their happy faces after flying. It is very important for aerospace students to closely see aircraft and understand how they operate. This is the reason for taking our first year aerospace students to the RAF Museum and our third year aerospace students to this important course”.

Find out more about Aerospace Engineering BEng/MEng by viewing the course page.