“You could say: What could we possibly do next? You look back at history and say: All the shelves must be full now! We must have the capabilities to do everything we need. And yet, we still go on…It’s your generation that is going to Mars. So please, can you get on with it and do it, because I want to enjoy it from the augmented reality that other engineers are going to produce.” — Ian Lane
This episode features Ian Lane, Senior Expert in Composite Analysis for Airbus UK. Ian has more than 40 years of experience in the aerospace industry and his career has taken him from British Hovercraft to British Aerospace, Westland Helicopters and finally to his current role at Airbus. On top of this broad aerospace background, Ian’s specialty are modern composite airframes and he was the lead stress engineer on the Airbus A400M and Airbus A350. Ian is also a Visiting Professor in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bristol, and a great example of an industry leader who knows how to inspire the next generation of young engineers. Indeed, Ian is actively involved with the Airbus Fly Your Ideas campaign, and a regular attendee at many international research conferences.
In this episode Ian and I discuss:
- his career progression from apprentice to Senior Expert at Airbus
- the incredible safety record of the aerospace industry
- why the demise of Concorde wasn’t a step backwards
- how Airbus fosters innovation and out-of-the-box thinking
- why inclusion and diversity in engineering are so important
- and much, much more
I hope that you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. If you enjoy the Aerospace Engineering Podcast you can support it by leaving a review on iTunes or by becoming a patron.
What have you learned from this episode? Let me know on Twitter by clicking here.
This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is sponsored by SAMPE North America. SAMPE is a global professional society that has been providing educational opportunities on advanced materials for more than 70 years. SAMPE’s network of engineers is a key facilitator for the advancement of aerospace engineering by enabling information exchange and synergies between aerospace companies. To find out how SAMPE can help you learn more about advanced materials and processes, consider attending the SAMPE 2018 Technical Conference and Expo in Long Beach, California.
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Selected Links from the Episode
- Airbus in Bristol & Filton, UK
- British Hovercraft Company
- Westland Helicopters (for a time known as AugustaWestland and now Leonardo Helicopters)
- Sikorsky Crisis, also known as the Westland Affair
- British Aerospace (now known as BAE Systems)
- The EU TANGO project (overview slides)
- A400M and A350 airframes, and contrasts between the two
- Evolution of composite application at Airbus
- Airbus Helicopters NH90 and Tiger
- Bend-twist coupling in aircraft wings
- Clean Sky initiative
- New aerospace metallic alloys
- Additive manufacturing and bionic 3D printing at Airbus
- Aerospace testing pyramid and virtual testing
- Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites
- A picture history of aviation safety and the “anti-fragile” nature of aircraft design
- Concorde demise and the Concorde Museum
- Airbus Fly Your Ideas
- Diversity at Airbus, Diversity & Inclusion in Engineering
- Women of NASA Lego
- Evolution of flying machines
