Your browser does not support HTML5 video.  Could a jetliner fly upside-down?

 Why do small airplanes use propellers while big airplanes use jet engines?

 Why are stealth airplanes flat with straight sharp edges?

 Why can't a propeller airplane break the sound barrier?

 What are all those moving surfaces that stick out of an airliner's wing?

 Why don't more airplanes use low-drag features like canards, thin glider-like wings, or tail-less configurations like flying wings?

 What about electric motors? Solar power?

 Why are small airplanes still built with draggy features like wing struts and rectangular wings? What is Understanding Airplanes?

Designed for curious airplane enthusiasts, this course covers the basics of aerodynamics, airplane engines, and airplane structures. We'll explore all kinds of airplane design features and why they were chosen: from biplanes to jetliners, from bushplanes to fighter jets. After looking at how airplanes evolved over the decades, we'll talk about exciting experimental technologies currently shaping the airplanes of the future.

Where and when is the course offered?

Due to the coronavirus situation, it's all up in the air. Plans to offer the class near Seattle in the Spring of 2020 have been cancelled. One session has been scheduled for Boeing employees in November, but the next session for the general public will only be scheduled once lock-down/social-distancing precautions can be eased. An online-delivery version of the course is currently in the works but will probably not be ready until the end of 2020. This paragraph, and the 'Register' page, will be updated with dates and locations as soon as they are finalized.

Who can take the course?

You don't need to be an engineer (or a college student, or a Boeing employee) to take this course; It is designed for all curious airplane lovers. We'll explore the ins and outs of airplane design though photographs, diagrams, and notional graphs:

Previous knowledge and math skills are not required. There are no tests and no homework.

