In Year 1 of our Aeronautical Technology degree, you could learn to fly a glider. You could also learn about propulsion systems, covering gas turbine engines, rocket engines and internal combustion engines. Other specialist modules include flight technology - involving the study of aircraft flight control systems - subsonic and supersonic aerodynamics, crash investigation, flight deck controls, instruments and displays, navigation systems, material properties and selection, and computer-based design, analysis and simulation. We place special emphasis on flight deck design, particularly the relationship between pilot and modern fly by wire computer interfaces - comparing and contrasting the Boeing and Airbus approaches. Many of these subjects are taught in group-based projects so you can apply your skills and knowledge to a real aircraft engineering design brief. The computer-aided design (CAD) techniques you'll use are the ones used by professional practitioners in the sector, including Finite Element Analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics. Our lab equipment is state-of-the-art and includes a new computerised wind tunnel. The course will prepare you for a variety of roles within the aircraft and airline industry. You'll be familiar with design techniques for modern aircraft systems, aircraft propulsion systems, aircraft design, airworthiness and safety issues. You could secure work such as a trainee pilot (including within the Royal Air Force) or as a designer within the aviation and associated industries. You could work in airline ground management or in aircraft maintenance engineering. Or you could continue your studies at postgraduate level - many graduates from this course study our MSc in Aeronautical Engineering.

Our MSc in Aeronautical Engineering is designed for progression from the BSc(hons) Aeronautical technology degree. Graduates have gone onto pilot roles (including in BA, Etihad, Monarch, RAF, and Virgin) and onto engineering roles for companies such as Rolls Royce, General Electric, Augusta Westland and Eurocopter.