United States Air Force Academy

Go to home page
Engineering Division

AERONAUTICS

Fighters flyover terrazzo

Supports cadets, the Air Force, and the world through studies in aerodynamics, flight mechanics, propulsion, aircraft structures, and experimental methods.

ABOUT US

Since its inception, the U.S. Air Force Academy has been a major contributor to technological developments and the security of the United States through aerospace studies. More than 60 years later, the Department of Aeronautics continues to support cadets, the Air Force, and the world through a variety of studies in aerodynamics, flight mechanics, propulsion, aircraft structures, and experimental methods. Cadets interested in Aeronautical Engineering have two-course design sequences to choose from—aircraft design or aircraft engine design.

The Aeronautical Engineering and Systems Engineering majors are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.

Aeronautics Faculty and Staff

Final Zoom Flight

Learn more about the artifacts on permanent display at the Department of Aeronautics facility from the final Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS) F-104 Zoom flight conducted on Nov. 30, 1973.

Pilot getting into plane F-104 Zoom flight Pilot in front of jet

Department News News From Around The Department


February 12, 2024

Cadet spends STEM Semester Exchange ‘Down Under’

Cadet 1st Class Zachary Curd returns to the U.S. Air Force Academy for his final semester after spending his fall on a STEM Cadet Semester Exchange Abroad Program with the Australian Defence Force Academy at the University of New South Wales, Canberra in Australia. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Rayna Grace) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – During U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 1st Class Zachary Curd’s semester in Australia last fall, he enjoyed experiences ranging from formal dining-ins to attending a Women’s World Cup game and scuba diving the Great...

Continue Reading Cadet spends STEM Semester Exchange ‘Down Under’

December 11, 2023

Academy Cadet selected for post-graduate Marshall Scholarship

U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 1st Class Owen Graham was selected for a Marshall Scholarship, a fully-funded postgraduate program in the United Kingdom. (U.S. Air Force photo) U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Cadet 1st Class Owen Graham has just been selected as the Academy’s 24th Marshall Scholar, earning a fully-funded, two-year postgraduate education in the United Kingdom. Graham will graduate in May with a degree in aeronautical engineering and applied mathematics and will commission as a second lieutenant into the U.S. Air Force. Following graduation, Graham hopes to attend the University of Cambridge...

Continue Reading Academy Cadet selected for post-graduate Marshall Scholarship

December 7, 2023

Cadets design planes to solve problems

Three cadet-designed and built sub-scale flying models of stealthy target drones appear outside the U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Aeronautics after flight testing Nov. 28, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Pacheco) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.- For three decades, U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Aeronautics aircraft design cadets have tackled real-world problems by designing, building and testing airplanes and rockets. About 75 cadets in the fall aircraft design course completed flight testing and final modifications to their aircraft in November. Their mission was to apply aeronautical concepts...

Continue Reading Cadets design planes to solve problems

See All News

HQ USAFA/DFAN
2354 Fairchild Drive, Suite 6H-101
United States Air Force Academy, CO 80840
(719) 333-4010 | DSN 333-4010
(719) 333-4013 | DSN 333-4013