Mooc (2016-2017) by Delft University of Technology (TU Delft, largest and oldest Dutch public technological university)

Type : self-paced, designed for 7 weeks duration, 84 h. I don’t know if a certificate is still delivered, but you can check your grades on the “progression page” and make screenshots “to prove” your qualification. Also, you may spend more than 7 weeks to finish the course. This aviation Mooc is challenging but it is also very well designed; one of my favorite aviation Moocs.

Platform : edX

Language : English

The learning objectives of this course are:

• General knowledge of the history of aeronautics
• Understanding the basic physical principles of flight
• Basic knowledge of aerodynamics/fluid dynamics
• General understanding of how the design of an aircraft influences the performance

Content :

Module A: Introductory module

Week 1

Lecture 1: Introduction + Ballooning

Lecture 2: The International Standard Atmosphere

Lecture 3: How aircraft fly

Week 2

Lecture 4: Cockpits & Instruments

Lecture 5: Structural concepts

Lecture 6: Stability & Control

Week 3

Lecture 7: Propulsion

Lecture 8: Materials & Exploring the limits

Lecture 9: Special vehicles

Module B: Aerodynamics

Week 4

Lecture 1: Introduction to Aerodynamics

Lecture 2: Compressibility

Lecture 3: Viscous flows

Week 5

Lecture 4: Pressure distributions and flow separation

Lecture 5: Airfoils

Lecture 6: Critical Mach number

Lecture 7: Finite wings

Module C: Flight Mechanics

Week 7

Lecture 1: Introduction to flight mechanics

Lecture 2: Horizontal flight performance

Week 8

Lecture 3: Climbing and descending flight

Lecture 4: The flight envelope

The content of each lesson is presented by the instructors in video format. You can download the video transcription and some slides. Nevertheless you have to take your own notes (equations, explications) and also to conduct additional research on the web. I outline that a big part of the course consists of presentation and application of physical laws, so you should master mathematics. To give an idea of the type and level of the first homework exercises, I’ve listed three examples of questions below:

1) What is the main reason that airships experience a high drag when moving? (2 attempts)

• Airships are not very aerodynamically shaped
• Airships are primarily designed to hang still in the air
• Airships fly at low altitudes where the air density is high
• Airships have an enormous volume

2) Montgolfier:  Some say that the hot air balloons with which the Montgolfier brothers performed their first flight had a volume of 1700 cubic meters and could lift 780 kilograms (that includes the balloon, basket and payload). Assume that the balloon took off on a day when the sea level pressure was 1013.25 hPa.

Given an outside temperature of 10.0 degrees Celsius, compute the temperature of the air (in degrees Celsius) in the balloon. (3 attempts)

3) Lifting a human: Suppose that a party balloon is spherical, has a radius of 16 centimeters and is filled with helium. Furthermore suppose that we do our experiment under standard atmospheric conditions, when the air density is rho = 1.225kg/m³. How many of these balloons should a 75 kilogram human carry in order to become airborne? (3 attempts)

My personal score for the first homework quiz (14 questions) was 100%, but it took me a lot of time and research to calculate and to find out the right answers. Discussion on the forum is interesting and you may exchange indications (not solutions!).

Grades and certificates

To qualify for a certificate you have to achieve a total grade of 55% or higher. There are homework exercises following the clips, as well as tests at the end of each module (different weighting factors). Personal overall-score : 99%

Reinhard Finke – VdN

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