09/82 - 10/87: Conceptual Aircraft Designer, Rockwell International
Although my time there was short, I'd have to say the work I did as a young conceptual aircraft designer for Rockwell was the most fun. In my first year, I was assigned to the B-1B Bomber Propulsion Systems group, where I developed the first successful computer simulation for the entire B-1B engine start system for use in airbase escape time studies. My later responsibilities included the development of design criteria, design synthesis methods and of course conceptual design of new aircraft for the U.S. military. I designed some pretty cool stuff including Close Air Support, High Maneuverability (shown upper left), High Altitude Reconnaissance, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Hostage Rescue and Low Observables aircraft. I even performed some of the early hypersonic propulsion system integration work on the unrealized National Aerospace Plane (NASP). My last assignment was acting subsystems integration lead on Rockwell's Advanced Tactical Fighter concept (now the F-22 Raptor being built by Lockheed-Martin). It may not sound glamorous but I learned about every major system in the aircraft.