November 2004

A new look for AERADE

October 2004 marked an important stage in AERADE's development, as the service underwent its first major upgrade for three years. The main enhancements offered by "AERADE 2004" are as follows:

  • Cross searching of the hand-picked Aerospace and defence resources, DEVISE and ESDU becomes the default mode
  • The introduction of the Reports Archive, which provides access to over 10,000 historically significant, digitised technical reports from the Aeronautical Research Council and NACA
  • The introduction of JobsBrief UK, containing a selection of commercial and academic job listings in the UK, relating to the fields of aerospace, defence and engineering
  • A new look and feel

Screen shot of AERADE home page

Cross-searching

Prior to the upgrade, the three primary AERADE databases (Aerospace and defence resources, DEVISE and ESDU Series) had to be searched separately unless the user chose to carry out a Portal search. Now the Quick Search on the home page will enable you, by default, to carry out a cross-search over these databases.

Previously, the search box on the home page only searched the handpicked collection of Aerospace and Defence Resources. You can still choose to search or browse this section separately, if you wish, by clicking on the link in the main menu. The collection contains links to a wide range of Web sites, databases and electronic publications including selected monographs, articles, conference proceedings, theses, regulatory documents, and technical reports produced by organisations such as the European Space Agency, NASA, NATO Research & Technology Organisation (RTO), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and many more.

Screen shot of aerospace and defence resources section of AERADE

Reports Archive

While the Aerospace and defence resources collection is still the place to find many contemporary reports, AERADE now provides access to an archive of important, historical technical reports. The Reports Archive contains digitised copies of over 10,000 reports issued by NACA and by the UK's Aeronautical Research Council and together they span the period from 1909 to 1980.

Screen shot of the Reports Archive results screen

JobsBrief UK

With the advent of JobsBrief UK, AERADE now provides access to a selection of commercial and academic job vacancies relating to the fields of aerospace, defence and engineering. The listings are updated dynamically as new jobs become available. It is hoped that eventually the scope of this service will be expanded beyond the UK to provide international coverage.

Screen shot of JobsBrief UK

What do our users think of the new look?

Introducing major changes to our service inevitably led to a nerve-wracking time for the development team as we waited for the verdict from AERADE users. Would they like the changes we had made? We are very pleased that all the comments we have received have been favourable and indicate that the enhancements we have made have been successful. A selection of comments follow:

"I think the revamped AERADE service … is great, much easier to negotiate, and a definite improvement."

"I think the new service is brilliant… You've really shown what is possible…"

"Splendid!"

And, while it's early days, the following statistics do seem to confirm that the new look AERADE is set to build on the foundations laid by earlier incarnations of the site.

Usage statistics continue to rise

A recent review of AERADE appears in the October 2004 issue of The Internet Resources Newsletter

The AERADE team would welcome any thoughts or comments you have on the new look. Please send them to aerade@cranfield.ac.uk.

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