Bob Stirling

Background

About Bob Stirling

Bob Stirling’s career started in 1957 when he began an aircraft engineering apprenticeship with A.V. Roe & Co (Avro) in Manchester. In 1963 he graduated from the University of Salford with a BSc in Aeronautical Engineering. In 1976, after several years in the industry, he completed his PhD in Aircraft Engineering at the University of Bristol, on flight control and gust alleviation systems. He has over 25 years of experience working in major aerospace companies in the UK, Canada and the USA, including (using present-day company names) BAE Systems, Bombardier, Boeing, and Airbus, and has held academic positions as Lecturer and Research Fellow in the University of Bristol Department of Aerospace Engineering. His aircraft engineering background is primarily in analysis, modeling and simulation of flight control systems and actuation systems, specialising in integrated aeroservoelastic analysis. Bob Stirling has worked in the design teams for several commercial and military aircraft, notably the Boeing 747, the Boeing 2707 SST project, the BAE Systems Tornado and Jaguar FBW, and many R&D programs in flight dynamics and control. He established the aerospace engineering companies Stirling Dynamics Ltd in Bristol in 1987, and Stirling Dynamics Inc (now SDI Engineering) in Seattle in 1995, and remains active in the Industry. His experience in developing the companies has given him a broad overview and many senior contacts in industry, government and academia. He continues with an active role in SDI Engineering USA and is also working with his son Pete Stirling’s technology company STL Tech (https://stl-tech.co.uk/) within the Bristol innovation incubator Science Creates (https://sciencecreates.co.uk/). STL Tech supplies electronic control systems hardware and software, and support to start-up companies with technology, commercialisation advice and investment. Contact Bob directly via bstirling@outlook.com or +44 927839.