For an aeroplane to enter flight service it must first complete and satisfy a comprehensive programme of testing. In the old days this would have involved traditional methods of testing, which cost quite a bit money and wasted a lot of time. However, what we are seeing now is a rapid development of technology and improved computational methods, which have been used by airline manufacturers to significantly help them in the test process. One area that has particularly benefited from the advances is full-scale static structural testing: so much so that Gary Prescott, chief engineer of structures engineering at Boeing in the US, believes the costly validation process could soon be partly replaced by such advanced analytic tools.
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