Aviation engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with airspace development, airport design, aircraft navigation technologies, and aerodrome planning. It also involves the formulation of

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...

, regulations, aviation laws pertaining to

airspace Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as outer space which is t ...

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

aerodrome An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes inc ...

s and the conduct of air services agreements through treaty. This branch of

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

is distinct from

aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

which deals with the development of aircraft and spacecraft.

Airspace development

The global airspace is divided into territorial airspace which then belongs to a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

. Generally, airspace has to be engineered to benefit both military and civil users. Planning and designing airspace is important so as not to affect military operations and in order to designate air routes for commercial airlines to navigate freely without intervention by military authorities. For instance, not all of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

can be used for commercial aeronautical navigation. Certain airspaces are designated as military-use only. Navigating outside commercial airspaces in the country may lead to the risk of the astrayed aircraft. In prior years, airspace has been limited to military and airmail services. The advancement in aerospace engineering brought to fore aircraft designs that lead to the development of commercial airliners. Governments around the world concluded air rights for their respective airlines and their corresponding aircraft. The government saw the economic potential of airspace as a state enterprise. This rise in the development of

commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...

led to the study of the complexities of aircraft (plane) management, airport design and construction, international air services agreements (treaties). In recent years, the global airline industry has demanded that China should reform its aviation policies.

Airport design

Recent designs of airports have been engineered to align with global environmental standards. Advancement in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

make an interplay of the two disciplines.

Career

Governments around the world hire aviation engineers for all sorts of reasons. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, federal, state and local agencies all commonly employ aviation engineers for agencies such as the Department of Transportation. The Federal Aviation Administration, which is in charge of controlling aircraft navigation throughout the whole nation, maintaining navigation, licensing and certification for aviation engineers. FAA employs many aviation engineers to work on research and development problems,

noise pollution Noise pollution, or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise or sound with potential harmful effects on humans and animals. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines, transport and propagation systems.Senate Publi ...

and hypersonic aircraft among other things. Engineers are heavily involved in improving aviation technologies to support the advancement of military and commercial aviation. Aviation engineers are often employed in aerospace machine shops specializing in the technological advancement of aircraft parts and equipment. These shops produce aircraft components such as electrical connectors, oxygen generation systems, landing gear assemblies, and other pieces that require special attention. Aviation engineers do more than work on planes. Aviation engineers also play a large role in airport design. They provide guidance for the construction and daily running of the airports, as well as help in the operation and maintenance.

References

{{Authority control Engineering disciplines Occupations in aviation