The Lanchester Trust is a charitable organisation created in March 2010 by three Lanchester enthusiasts, now Trustees:  Chris Clark, Eric Baptiste and Malcolm Whitehouse.  The stated aim of the Trust is to celebrate the work of the Lanchester brothers, not just of Lanchester cars (which were profound) but across the whole spectrum of their activity, including aeronautics

The Lanchester Trust, along with Coventry University’s Engineering and Computing Transport Faculty Research Centre, invite applications for a PhD studentship to study in depth, the aeronautical engineering works from the 1890s of Dr Frederick Lanchester. 

The PhD is to be focused on the virtual and conceptual design analysis, proving that his concepts work and analysing the inherent flight stability. If it is proved to work well, this could inform the future light aircraft design process.  The project will involve CFD, Flight Simulation virtual model building and testing, with the potential for some wind tunnel experimentation for validation purposes.

Extensive research into Lanchester's original patents and documentation together with validation of his original calculations in the light of current aeronautical knowledge should support the creation of a working model of his patented invention.

The Department of Aviation, Aerospace, Electrical and Electronic Engineering provides innovative undergraduate and postgraduate courses and is home to over one thousand students. The staff are expected to be active members of the new Faculty Research Centres (FRCs). This PhD will be in the Transportation and Mobility FRC. This works across the university and focuses on the sustainable and safe design (and engineering) of future transport systems. The Centre brings together a number of established, growing areas of research expertise and focused themes. These include: vehicle design and styling, human factors, structural optimisation, vehicle dynamics and safety and aerospace engineering.

Candidate specifications

• A minimum of a 2:1 first degree in a relevant discipline/subject area with a minimum 60% mark in the Project element or equivalent with a minimum 60% overall module average.
• Or in the event of a first degree classification of less than 2:1, a Masters Degree in a relevant subject area will be considered as an equivalent. The Masters must have been attained with overall marks at merit level (60%). In addition, the dissertation or equivalent element in the Masters must also have been attained with a mark at merit level (60%).
• The potential to engage in innovative research and to complete the PhD within a three-year period of study
• A minimum of English language proficiency (IELTS overall minimum score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each component)