SEATTLE, Nov. 27, 2009--Aviation author, Boeing researcher and Associate Aeronautics & Astronomics professor at the University of Washington, Dr. Scott Eberhardt discusses the performance and technology of World War I fighter aircraft in the Museum's J. Elroy McCaw Personal Courage Wing. The 2 p.m., Nov. 19 program will include a guided tour of the Museum's WWI fighter aircraft collection. Dr. Eberhardt will discuss fighter tactics developed during WWI, and demonstrate why certain planes of the period were more successful than others. Topics will include climb and turn performance comparisons, as well as different combat tactics. The lecture is sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The program is free with admission to the Museum.
Dr. Eberhardt teaches a popular class in aeronautics at the University of Washington, Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. His authored publications have included a seminal book entitled "Understanding Flight." Dr. Eberhardt is a private pilot who currently works in high-lift aerodynamics at Boeing Commercial Airplanes Product Development. He holds degrees from MIT and a PhD in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University. He joined Boeing in 2006 after 20 years on the faculty of the Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at the University of Washington.
He was a Presidential Young Investigator for the National Science Foundation from 1987 until 1992, and was honored as the Academic Engineer of the Year, by the Puget Sound Engineering Council in 1997. In addition, Dr. Eberhardt has received funding from the Office of Naval Research, the National Science Foundation, Northrop, Rockwell International, Boeing and Cray Research. As a member of the AIAA, Dr. Eberhardt has helped organize conferences and was General Chairman of the 30th Aerospace Sciences Meeting.
Dr. Eberhardt was also a consultant on The Museum of Flight's Personal Courage Wing, which opened June 6, 2004. As a result of this work, he has become actively involved researching the history of aviation. A recent AIAA paper summarizes some of this work: Performance Analysis and Tactics of Fighter Aircraft from WWI. Dr. Eberhardt was a Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE) scholar for the year 2004-2005.
The Museum of Flight's collection of 18 World War I aircraft includes examples of the War's most important fighter planes, from the world's first--the Italian Caproni Ca 20-to one of the last--and most advanced-fighters of the War, the German Fokker D.VIII.
For more information and photographs of the Museum's World War I collection, please see:
http://www.museumofflight.org/WWIImage: The Museum of Flight's Nieuport 27. Museum of Flight photo.
SEATTLE, Nov. 27, 2009