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what aerospace manufacturers really need from their software
In aerospace, precision is everything. There is no room for “alignment”, hammer to fit or guesswork. Parts require zero tolerance for failure and the pressure is on. I’m a closet F-1 race fan and the speed, car structure and proximity of other drivers forces a similar approach to perfection.
Tolerances in the manufacturing of F-1 cars can be far less than the width of a human hair in parts like the pistons, machined chassis, the engine block and the brake discs. These cars experience G-forces and internal temperatures that rival many airplanes, which surprised me when I was doing the research for this story. A jet engine on a commercial plane has internal combustion temperatures of 1,500 degrees Celsius; race cars are at 1,000. While that’s a 50% increase in the airplane, the size of the airplane parts in relation to the F-1 cars are at a 10,000 – 20,000 X and that makes the difference massively significant. (I also respect those drivers even more than I did before writing this.)
Precision in aerospace manufacturing (and F1 cars) are for the safety of the operators and the passengers on the aircraft. And when there’s no room for error, there’s also no room for “I think”.