Each semester, Georgia Tech-Lorraine demonstrates it’s the place to be for students interested in Aerospace Engineering! On December 4th, students in professor Turab Zaidi’s graduate Aircraft Design class (AE 6343) learned about aircraft design directly from the source, with a lecture, case study and roundtable session with Milan Tasic, a stress engineer with the Airbus ‘eXperts’ group in Toulouse, France.

After meeting with Yves Berthelot, Georgia Tech-Lorraine president, Abdallah Ougazzaden, Director of Georgia Tech-Lorraine, and Jean-Paul Salvestrini, Director, International Joint Research Lab: GT-CNRS UMI 2958, Mr. Tasic joined professor Zaidi in a joint lecture to the class where he explained some of the new, cutting-edge directions Airbus is moving in for structural analysis.

Following lunch, Mr. Tasic presented a case study on the “Technical Challenges and Solutions in the Beluga XL Program.” The Beluga XL is Airbus’ updated model of the Beluga oversized cargo carrier aircraft used to transport aircraft sections for assembly and repair. The Beluga XL can hold 30% more cargo than the original Beluga. Currently undergoing flight testing, the Beluga XL will begin supporting increased production rates of the A320neo and A350-XWB in 2019. 

Students then participated in a roundtable discussion on the topic of, “Aircraft Rapid Decompression Case: history and impact on regulations and aircraft design.” The roundtable session allowed students to engage with Milan interactively and put their engineering skills to the test in a design challenge to solve a real structural analysis problem experienced by the industry. 

With a focus on payload integration, manufacturing support, and stress methodologies, Mr. Tasic was an excellent source of information. Dr. Zaidi was pleased with the outcome -- “Milan’s visit gave our students an appreciation of how classroom knowledge translates to industry. This new perspective helped them see how theory comes together to impact design processes at a major aircraft manufacturer. Georgia Tech-Lorraine is extremely grateful to Milan for sharing his time and expertise with us, and for helping to inspire our students!”