me, helicopters and women in aviation

© Copyright QinetiQ Pty Ltd 20161

Me, Helicopters and Women in Aviation

Anthea MillsWomen in Aviation Australia Conference

29 October 2016


Contents

2

1. About me

2. QinetiQ

3. My current role

4. What is Aircraft Structural Integrity?

5. Helicopters -Fatigue machines

6. Why managing helicopter fatigue is like being a female engineer?

7. Do we need more females in non-traditional roles?

8. Attracting and supporting women in aviation


Education• Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering • Graduate Diploma in Commerce (Human

Resource Management)

Previous Work at QinetiQ• Usage Monitoring and Environmental

Degradation Management• Caribou and P-3 • Contract Manager

Project Team Lead Military Helicopters

Wife and mother

Part-time work

3

1. About me

© Copyright QinetiQ Limited 2016 QinetiQ Proprietary

Our Company

4

QinetiQ Group Companies

QinetiQ Group Markets

Government Defence

Infrastructure& Utilities

Financial & Professional Capabilities


Our Numbers

5

8Years

A$54Million

In Revenue270

Employees

QinetiQAustralia

Esta

blish

ed2008


Our Markets

6

Defence Government Industry

Advice Services Deep Technical Expertise

© Copyright QinetiQ Limited 2016 QinetiQ Proprietary 7

Our Services

AerospaceLife of Type/Ageing Platform Audits

Health and Usage Monitoring

Aerospace Advisory Services

Non-Destructive Testing

Structural Integrity

Transport Aircraft Engineering

Surveillance Aircraft Engineering

Fighters & Trainers Engineering

Military Helicopters Engineering

Repair and Modification Design


Our People

8

Engineers

Test and Evaluation Professionals

Software Developers

Integrated Logistics Support Professionals

Risk Managers

Project and Program Managers

Prototypers

Security Advisors

Naval Architects

Cost Analysts

Change Managers

Model Makers


3. Project Team Lead – Military Helicopters

Military Helicopter Team is comprised of 12 professional engineers

Provide support to:• HSI - DAVENG as part of the DASA

− Strategic advice on Aircraft Structural Integrity

− Specific engineering investigations

− Routine reporting and analysis including UM, SCM, FM and EDM

• Defence Science and Technology• Through Life Support contractors• System Project Offices

− Modification and Repair design


3. Project Team Lead – Military Helicopters

My Role Includes:

• Helping to shape technical direction for the team and customers

• Providing Technical Advice

• Staff Management

• Project Management

• Checking and Approval



Photo: NTSB

1990 Nomad AccidentMetal Fatigue causes tail plane to fail

1988 Aloha Airlines AccidentMetal Fatigue exacerbated by corrosion



Aircraft are designed to an approved standard

Military usage may be different than assumed usage

Condition of the aircraft may deteriorate due to environmental factors or metal fatigue

Closed loop systems

Determine review life of aircraft based on collected data

Change inspections or Component Retirement Times

Change aircraft life

Environmental Degradation Management

Structural Life Assessment

Fatigue Management

Condition Monitoring

Usage Monitoring


Helicopter10,000 parts rotating rapidly around an oil leak waiting for metal fatigue to set in


High Cycle Fatigue – 500 rpm• Difficult to measure the loads on

the aircraft due to fast moving rotating parts

• Large number of cycles means small change in the loads can cause large changes in the crack growth

• Full scale fatigue testing difficult because of the large number of load cycles

14

5. Helicopters – Fatigue Machines


6. Managing helicopter fatigue is like being a female engineer:

The principles of managing fatigue on a helicopter are the same as for fixed wing aircraft, except ….EVERYTHING IS MORE COMPLICATED• Loads Measuring• Fatigue Testing

Being a female engineer is the same as being a male engineer, except …. EVERYTHING IS MORE COMPLICATED• Expectations outside work • Discrimination • Unconscious bias


7. Do we need more females in non traditional roles?

We need more male Primary School teachers

Getting the best person for the job – helping everyone to reach their potential• Using people’s natural ability without

reference to their gender• Reaching potential• Diversity improves solutions


8. Attracting more women to aviation and supporting them

Talk to women who are not engineers

Female role models in non-traditional roles• Help young women to consider non-traditional roles• Be a role model – be obvious, be seen, tell your story• Step up – sit at the table

Unconscious gender bias• Women have unconscious gender bias – that doesn’t make it right

How does my hair look?

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