Academic Excellence at Cranfield University
The Air Force engineering Master’s programme sees our top engineers selected to undertake postgraduate studies in specialised fields. Flight Lieutenant (FLTLT) Sam Bradley was one of those shoulder-tapped for the opportunity and has recently graduated with a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Aerospace Vehicle Design (AVD) from Cranfield University in the United Kingdom.
I was fortunate enough to be selected by the Air Force to undertake an MSc degree specialising in aeronautical structural analysis. It sponsors two engineers each year to undertake advanced studies in one of four specialist streams for engineers: structures, avionics, propulsion, or software. Dependent on the stream chosen, each Master’s degree is generally one year in length, and undertaken at various universities across the United Kingdom. Cranfield University, where I completed my master’s degree, is one of the top aerospace universities in the world, and is highly regarded by industry.
The Aerospace Vehicle Design (AVD) MSc course is comprised of two main parts: a group design project, and an individual research project, both of which culminate with a written thesis and presentations to academic staff and industry.
For the group project, all students work together to advance a conceptual aircraft through to the detailed design phase. This project takes place over six months and recreates a virtual industrial environment, bringing together students with various experience levels and different nationalities into one integrated design team.
For the individual research project, each MSc student works on a thesis topic that will contribute to academia or industry knowledge. The topic that I developed was based around assessing the fatigue characteristics of indentations to fuselage skin, which is a form of damage that is highly prevalent across the Air Force fleets. The thesis included recommendations which will aid our engineers to quickly assess indentations and to justify continued operations with this type of damage.
I can say that the Master’s degree entailed significant academic challenges and was a significant step up from my previous bachelor degrees. For my efforts I was fortunate enough to be awarded the Joe Young Memorial Prize which is awarded to the top student of the course. This was very humbling considering the calibre of the international students who I studied alongside.
The Master’s programme is an incredible opportunity for motivated Air Force engineers wanting to expand their knowledge and become specialists in their chosen field. Advanced training opportunities such as this is one of the reasons I love being part of the Air Force, and I am sincerely grateful to them for their support.
