Military aerospace and airworthiness education programme
This ‘Masters’ level suite of modules provides understanding and appreciation of military aircraft systems, safety, airworthiness policies and procedures.
Documents
Details
The Military Aerospace and Airworthiness (MAA) education programme has been designed to address the needs of employees in the MOD, the armed forces, and the international defence industry. It is available as a Master of Science (MSc) degree, postgraduate diploma (PgDip) or postgraduate certificate (PgCert). In addition, each taught module is available as an individual short course for credit or attendance-only short course.
The MSc is accredited by the Royal Aeronautical Society on behalf of the Engineering Council as contributing to the requirements for professional registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng).
Course aim
The aim of the programme is to provide practising engineers with the knowledge and skills to enable them to work more effectively in the fields of military aerospace engineering, safety, and airworthiness.
Outline of syllabus
The programme is delivered on a part-time basis and conforms to Cranfield University’s system of ten credits (100 learning hours) per module. Each five-day residential module is taught, in general, by conventional means through student attendance of lectures at the Shrivenham or Cranfield campuses. Students are provided with pre-module and post-module reading and assessment as dictated by the individual module. All lecture material is made available through the University’s virtual learning environment. Candidates must successfully pass the module assessment to be awarded the learning credits.
Minimum Entry Requirements
- A UK lower second-class (2:2) undergraduate degree with honours, in a relevant subject area; or
- An equivalent international qualification; or
- Relevant work experience in combination with a degree below second-class honours.
If you do not meet our formal entry requirements but feel that you can demonstrate the ability to complete the course successfully, you may still be accepted onto the course. Each application will be considered on its merits.
How to Apply
For general enquiries and further information on the courses please email MAA-course-admin@cranfield.ac.uk. To apply, please email admissions@cranfield.ac.uk.
Taught Modules
The MAA programme consists of the following modules.
MAA03: Airworthiness of Military Aircraft
Provides an understanding of MOD airworthiness organizations, policies and procedures. The module explains the application of airworthiness to air systems and includes law, design, type and continuing airworthiness, integrity, gas turbine engines, programmable elements and human factors.
MAA04: Aviation Safety Management
Provides the skills required to manage operational safety within the aviation industry. The module covers: the fundamentals of a safety management system, introducing International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and other state safety regulatory bodies; safety data, safety information and analyses; hazard identification and risk management; safety performance and safety health; safety organisations.
MAA05: Air Transport Engineering - Maintenance Operations
Provides the fundamentals of the disciplines associated with the management of aircraft maintenance and engineering. The module covers: maintenance programme development; optimisation of maintenance; human factors in aircraft maintenance; logistics and supply chain management; linkages between manufacturer, operator and maintenance organisation; continuing airworthiness management and Regulatory aspects (European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part M); health and usage monitoring.
MAA06: Aircraft Accident Investigation and Response
This module is based around a case study approach to aircraft accident investigation. You will have the opportunity to experience important elements of aircraft accident investigation from initial notification of an event through to generating and communicating investigative findings. You will be presented with a simulated accident scenario during which you will be exposed to all elements of the investigation such as evidence collection, interviewing, analysis and the generation of safety recommendations.
MAA07: Aircraft Survivability
Provides engineers with knowledge of the threat environment and vulnerabilities of aircraft systems, structures and payloads. It will then introduce the design strategies and technology used to counter such threats. The module covers: anti-aircraft systems; threats; terminal ballistics; stealth; sensors and threat detection; defensive aids suites; vulnerability assessment.
MAA08: Design, Durability and Integrity of Composite Aircraft Structures
Provides engineers with knowledge of polymer composite properties and behaviour relevant to their in-service performance, durability and maintenance in aircraft structures. The module covers: the regulatory background; structural analysis; fatigue analysis; delamination crack growth and fracture mechanics; service degradation processes; service environment issues.
MAA09: Fundamentals of Aircraft Engine Control
Provides an introduction to aircraft engine control, explaining the philosophy of jet engine control requirements and systems. The module covers: compressor and turbine performance; gas turbine control; fuel systems, pumps and metering; electronic engine control; staged combustion; airworthiness considerations.
MAA11: Guided Weapons
Provides an overview of guided weapon systems and technology, introducing the theoretical and practical design of guided weapon subsystems and demonstrating how these subsystems form the overall guided weapon system. The module covers: propulsion; aerodynamics; control; guidance; radar surveillance and target acquisition; mmW seekers; EO systems and countermeasures; laser principles and applications; warheads; structures and materials; aircraft integration; airworthiness issues.
MAA12: Introduction to Aircraft Structural Crashworthiness
Provides an understanding of the design of crashworthy aircraft structures and the considerations necessary when designing safe and crashworthy aircraft. The main purpose of crashworthy design is to eliminate injuries and fatalities in mild impacts and minimise them in severe but survivable impacts. The module covers: regulations; human tolerance; crash energy management; structural collapse; methods for crash analysis.
MAA15: Military Aircraft Systems
Provides an understanding of military aircraft systems. The module covers: actuation, control surfaces and data transfer; fuel systems; landing gear design; hydraulic and pneumatic systems; electrical systems; environmental control systems; emergency systems; anti-icing.
MAA16: Military Avionics - STA, Communications and Navigation
Provides an understanding of military sensor, communication and navigation avionic systems, the electronic threat to such systems and how they may be protected. The module covers: military airborne radar; radar electronic warfare; digital and satellite communications; communications electronic warfare; airborne electro-optic and infra-red sensors; laser directed energy weapons; displays - head up/down and helmet; inertial navigation; terrain-based navigation.
MAA17: Practical Reliability
Provides and introduction to the reliability analysis of data from tests and service records, and methods of evaluating system reliability as part of design. The module covers: the various means of performing the reliability assessment of components and systems; requirements for safety and reliability assessment as part of the regulatory approval process; analysis of failure data; systems - conventional representation, series-parallel methods, decomposition techniques, path and cut sets, reliability of maintained systems, failure mode effect and criticality analysis, fault tree analysis, Markov methods; applications - reliability prediction and in-service reliability and service policy development.
MAA18: Safety Assessment of Aircraft Systems
Provides an introduction to the various approaches to the problems of assessing the safety of increasingly complex aircraft systems. The module covers: the regulatory background (FAR/EASA CS25-1309); methods and techniques; use of safety assessment techniques; practical examples; current and future issues.
MAA21: Fixed-Wing Aeromechanics
Provides an understanding of the principles, concepts and analysis techniques of fixed-wing platforms. The module covers: aerodynamics - fundamental definitions, basic fluid dynamics, basic aerodynamics, the origins of lift, drag at subsonic flight speeds, compressible flow, transonic flight, supersonic flight, drag reduction in high-speed flight; aerostructures - structural design developments, fundamental aerospace stress and structural analysis methods, structural layout methods, structural loads; performance - airspeeds, cruise performance, mass definitions, climbing and descending flight, manoeuvres, take-off and landing, energy-height concept; flight mechanics - trim, stability and control, longitudinal static stability, lateral/directional static stability, longitudinal dynamic stability, lateral dynamic stability, control methods.
MAA22: Propulsion Systems
Provides an understanding of the design and performance of aviation propulsion systems for fixed-wing, rotary-wing and Uncrewed Air System (UAS) applications The module covers: gas turbine fundamentals - basic principles, thermodynamics, gas dynamics, dimensional analysis, ideal (Joule) gas turbine cycle; gas turbine components - fixed-wing and rotary-wing intakes, centrifugal and axial flow compressors, combustion chambers, axial-flow turbines, nozzles; aviation internal combustion engines - petrol engine (Carnot) cycle and applications, diesel engine cycle and application; applications - aircraft propulsion (turboshaft cycle, turbojet cycle, turbofan cycle, the engine running line, short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft applications), internal combustion engine applications.
MAA23: Rotary-Wing Aeromechanics
Provides an understanding of the principles, concepts and analysis techniques of rotary platforms. The module covers: rotor axial flight performance; rotor control; rotor forward flight; rotary-wing aircraft performance; trim, stability and control; cross-couplings and vibrations; transmissions.
MAA24: Aircraft Fatigue and Damage Tolerance
Provides familiarisation of fatigue and damage tolerance analysis techniques and their application to aircraft structural design by instruction, investigation and examples. The module covers: design awareness; fatigue analysis; fracture mechanics; damage tolerance.
MAA25: Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance
Provides a broad overview of the nature and management of human error in the aviation maintenance domain. Key theories and frameworks for investigating maintenance human error, contributing factors and effects on operations are introduced. The challenges associated with the practical application of currently available safety tools are examined together with the latest strategies to enhance understanding and management of maintenance error. The module covers: the nature of the maintenance environment; maintenance management; designing for human factors; human error management in maintenance.
MAA26: Uninhabited Aircraft Systems / Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems
Focuses on the up-to-date uncrewed aircraft systems level technologies and artificial intelligence-based methods for mission planning and energy-based range extenders and autopilots. It covers the connectivity of airworthiness and the cyber threat in the modern airspace. The module covers: passive and active hard subsystems; soft methods; design and analysis methods; AI design-based guidance; applications and airworthiness.
Updates to this page
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Military aerospace and airworthiness suite page updated and re-formatted.
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The email address has been amended.
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First published.