Barks wrote:
>
> Engineers, huh! What did they know? It was the pilots who made it happen ;->
>
Luckily, there have always been engineers who were also pilots: Scott
Crossfield,
Curtiss, the Wrights, Geoffrey deHavilland (hope I spelled that right), Buzz
Aldrin (PhD) and so on. Fewer now though.
>
> Seriously though, the use of slide rules had the advantage of making
> you aware of what calculations you were carrying out surely?
Absolutely. Younger engineers trusting blindly in computer output without being
able to note whether the decimal place is in the right spot (or checking
dimensions, see Lockheed/NASA JPL) - a huge problem today.
>
> BTW, aircrew and engineers have a love-hate relationship in my
> experience - especially design engineers since each thinks that he
> knows best what the other needs. Witness "The Right Stuff" when the
> pilot and astronaut-to-be asks where the window is in the space
> module...
"Spacecraft" if you please!
>
>
> But we all have something to bring to the table, as long as we get to
> the table and we talk when we get there to see what we need and
> whether we can have it - isn't that true of all parts of life?
>
> [I spent 18 months discussing the design of the cockpit of
> Eurofighter with the avionics engineers who were designing its
> components.]
Exactly the way it is supposed to be done! We have several ex-PATRIOT warrants
and
commissioned officers on out team for just that reason. Chilling stories from
Desert Storm. Missile duels are not for the weak-hearted!
>
>
> I'm better now though.
>
> Chris
>
Me, too.
Gary Edwards
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