Case 09 / Conceptual aircraft design
FireBolt conceptual aircraft design
A conceptual aircraft-design project connecting requirements, mission sizing, configuration development, CAD and aerodynamic analysis.
Configuration development · CAD · design reportConceptual design and analysis with Mariyam Abid
How do requirements and engineering assumptions become a documented conceptual aircraft?
Mariyam Abid and I developed the FireBolt aircraft concept, documenting requirements, sizing calculations and configuration decisions. We used MATLAB, RDS and CAD to connect the analytical work with the geometric design and produce a coordinated design report.
Method and workflow
- 01
State the brief
Define mission requirements and the assumptions driving the initial aircraft sizing.
- 02
Develop the configuration
Document the chosen architecture, airfoil and geometric decisions with their assumptions.
- 03
Connect the tools
Carry the study through MATLAB calculations, RDS records, CAD and a DATCOM adaptation.
- 04
Document the design
Record the assumptions, configuration choices and analytical results in the joint design report.
Project figures
Model assumptions and scope
- The results cover conceptual sizing, analysis and CAD. Detailed design and experimental validation are outside the project scope.
- The CAD configuration and the DATCOM reference curves are separate models; the reference curves are identified in the aerodynamic-modelling case.
Potential extensions
Bring the sizing assumptions, geometry definitions and analysis inputs into a single consistent design record.
Let’s work through it.
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