TITLE
Subtitle or Project Name
…use a pretty graphic!
Submitted To:
CUSTOMER NAME
BY
AUTHOR
COMPANY NAME
ADDRESS
1 December 2007
Approved by:
Big Boss’ Signature
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
(< 1 page)
(YOUR COMPANY’S NAME) is pleased to present its final report for……
Executive Summary - Must be able to stand alone! Many will only see this.
- What was done
- Why/how
- Key Results
(Use pictures, so upper management can understand it!)
- DO NOT "cut & paste" executive summary from body of reportrestate it freshly!
(If the report is for a contract (or a class), make it VERY clear up here that the
contracted/assigned work was all completed. Don't make them hunt to see if you did the job.
This isn't a novel - no extra points for a surprise ending!)
Notes Concerning This File:
1. This document is copyright (don’t get rich selling it to others!) but you are welcome to
use it as a starting point for your report. You may wish to open the File Properties to
change the Summary information.
2. When making new Headings and when inserting figures, it is easiest to copy an existing
one, paste it in, and modify it. This allows you to:
3. Right-Click on the Table of Contents and List of Figures to update their information.
Some Friendly Suggestions for Report Authors:
1. Use Standard English, which does not include regional slang (“soda pop”) or textmessaging slang (“4” instead of “for”). Avoid even the mildest of swear words.
2. All abbreviations and Greek characters should be listed in the Nomenclature section.
3. Check spelling and grammar, and learn the common grammar mistakes that make you
look like an idiot (its / it’s, that / which, who’s / whose, and a few dozen others).
4. Try to avoid the sexism built into our language (designers aren’t always a “he”).
5. Pick then keep a consistent “voice”. If writing in the third person (the design was created
using….) don’t switch to first person (then I analyzed it…..). Most technical reports are
written exclusively in the third person, but there is no hard rule.
6. Convert your reports into PDF format (I use PDF995) so that what you see is what they
see. PDF is usually smaller and this also makes it harder for someone to steal your text!
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY _____________________________________________________ ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS _____________________________________________________ iii
LIST OF FIGURES _________________________________________________________ iv
NOMENCLATURE __________________________________________________________ v
1.
INTRODUCTION ________________________________________________________ 1
2.
BACKGROUND _________________________________________________________ 1
3.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM _________________________________________ 1
4.
APPROACH ____________________________________________________________ 2
5.
RESULTS (or specific titles) _______________________________________________ 3
6.
SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS ____________________________________________ 6
APPENDICES ______________________________________________________________ 7
REFERENCES ______________________________________________________________ 7
iii
LIST OF FIGURES
figure 1.
figure 2.
figure 3.
figure 4.
Vehicle Arrangement Three-View _____________________________________________________ 3
Design Data ______________________________________________________________________ 4
Aero (L/D) _______________________________________________________________________ 4
Weights __________________________________________________________________________ 5
iv
NOMENCLATURE
A
CL
CAD
CFD
cg
DATCOM
L/D
M
RDS
T/W
W/S
We
VL
= Aspect Ratio (span2/reference area, applied to wings and tails)
= Wing Lift Coefficient
= Computer-Aided Design
= Computational Fluid Dynamics
= Center of Gravity (mass)
= Data Compendium (USAF aerodynamics methodology report)
= Lift-to-Drag Ratio
= Mach Number
= Aerospace vehicle design software (product of Conceptual Research Corp.)
= Thrust-to-weight ratio
= Wing loading (weight/area)
= Empty Weight
= Vertical Landing
v
1. INTRODUCTION
(< 1 page)
(YOUR COMPANY’S NAME) has completed its contracted effort for…
Introduction must be written as if the Executive Summary is NOT there!)
- What was done/when
- Who/for whom
- Value of results (use)
2. BACKGROUND
(1/2 to 4 pages)
There are many aircraft missions calling for…..
Background presents more detail on why the study was done, what else is going on that affects
what you will show, defines context, sets the stage, etc…
This section should get them interested enough to read the rest!
3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
(1/2 to 2 pages)
The fundamental problem addressed by this research study is the technical means for allowing
an aircraft to…..
The Statement of Problem should obviously follow from material in the background section,
and specifically defines and limits the “scope" of the effort.
1
4. APPROACH
(1 to 10 pages)
The overall project approach is described in this section…………..
Air vehicle analysis was done using the methods of Raymer1 …
The Approach section should give a clear and repeatable description of how you tackled the
problem, with enough information for a knowledgeable person to reproduce the results you are
about to present. This should include the assumptions used, the tools and methods, the steps of
the research or study, etc… This may be broken out by task.
Alternatively, there can be an Approach subsection beginning each section of the RESULTS.
2
5. RESULTS (or specific titles)
(2 to 10 pages)
The Results Section is the main “meat” of the report, presenting the actual findings, significant
output of tests or calculations and other analysis. This MUST be readable, not pages of
computer output (those go in the Appendices). Use a lot of pictures! Results should include
problems encountered, believability of results, and accuracy estimates, if suitable.
The Results section can be broken into several sections if that makes more sense for the type of
work being reported. In reporting on vehicle design studies I usually have separate sections
titled System Requirements, Design Concept, Design Analysis, and Cost-Effectiveness (or
something similar). Or, those could be subheadings as follows:
Task 1: System Requirements
Requirements for this system were defined by…..
Task 2: Design Concept
From these requirements, an initial design concept was prepared as shown in figure…..
figure 1. Vehicle Arrangement Three-View
3
wing
Area Sref
Aspect Ratio
Taper Ratio
Sweep (LE)
Sweep (c/4)
Airfoil
Thickness t/c
Dihedral
Twist
Span
Root Chord
Tip Chord
Mean Chord
Y-bar
Vtails
164
50
9
3.5
0.4
0.56
0
30
-2.726
26.417
NACA 65(216)-415 NACA 0006
0.15
0.12
3
135
0
0
38.419
13.229
6.098
4.846
2.439
2.714
4.526
3.876
8.233
2.996
figure 2. Design Data
Task 3: Design Analysis
The vehicle design was analyzed using the methods of …
figure 3. Aero (L/D)
4
Weight
lbs
STRUCTURES
1012.0
Wing
304
V-Tails(2)
54
Fuselage
318
Tail Booms (2)
140
Nacelle/cowling
20
Motor Mount
15
Main Landing Gear
129
Nose Landing Gear
32
PROPULSION
Engine
Air Induction
Cooling
Loc
ft
13.4
26.0
9.0
20.0
16.0
16.0
13.6
2.0
683.0
Moment
ft-lbs
13518
EQUIPMENT
4074 Flight Controls
1404 Instruments
2862 Hydraulics
2800 Electrical
320 Avionics
240 Air Conditioning
1754 Anti-Icing
64 Furnishings & Equipment
0
0
(% We Allowance)
0 Empty Weight Allowance
10712 TOTAL WEIGHT EMPTY
510 17.0
10 14.0
10 15.0
8670
140 USEFUL LOAD
150 Crew
Exhaust
10
0.0
0
Engine Controls
Misc. Engine Inst
Propeller
Starter
3 14.0
3 0.0
40 20.3
30 0.0
42
0
812
0
Fuel
Fuel System
67 13.4
898 TAKEOFF GROSS WEIGHT
Oil
Passengers
Payload
figure 4. Weights
Task 4: Cost-Effectiveness
Cost was estimated using……
5
Weight Loc Moment
lbs
ft
ft-lbs
192.0
1462
35 12.0
420
10 4.6
46
3 12.0
36
36 5.0
180
28 5.0
140
0
0
80 8.0
640
5
94.4 13.6
1285
1981.4 13.6
26976
1253.7
340.0
6.3
2142
523.7 13.5
7069
10 0.0
340 9.9
40 11.6
0
3366
464
3235.0 12.4
40018
6. SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS
(1/2 to 2 pages)
(YOUR COMPANY’S NAME) has completed its contracted effort for ….
If they have read this far, the Summary and Conclusions section tells them what to believe and
remember from all you’ve presented. It should briefly restate the background and problem, then
lead them through the approach and technical results you found. Then, it should clearly state
what you think they should conclude as a result, such as “this project is feasible and affordable”
(but don’t use that cliché phrase!). Keep it short – if you can get them to remember two things
about your study for six months afterwards, you are doing good!
Do not use prior text here – cut-and-paste is not your friend. You should never present new or
additional information including graphics in this section, but I often throw in a pretty picture at
the end, such as…...
6
APPENDICES
Rest of the tables/graphs, Computer Listings, whatever…
Appendices can be before or after References.
REFERENCES
1
Raymer, D., AIRCRAFT DESIGN: A Conceptual Approach, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
Washington, D.C., Fourth Edition 2006
7