Aviation and Aerospace is not a bad name for this Q&A site. But if "and" is not allowed, I guess either Aviation or Aerospace could work.
More important is the discussion about the audience.
To me, aviation is everything involved with the act of flying. That would suggest an audience of primarily pilots, or "end users" as you call it. Maybe air traffic controllers, ramp handlers and maintenance people would also feel comfortable under "aviation".
Aerospace on the other hand would cover the area's of design, production, standardization, legislation etcetera related to aviation (and space systems).
The value of combining the two is cross pollination.
I frequent a number of aviation forums and the quality of answers that I see is often appalling, misleading and sometimes dangerous. This is especially the case for question related to the working of systems and the reason behind certain design choices. Questions that are much better answered by those who designed the systems than by those who operate them.
On the other hand, when working in multidisciplinary design or standardisation teams I am sometimes surprised by the lack of understanding of basic principles of flight, commercial operations and procedures by some of those who are developing the next generation of aircraft or air traffic control systems.
Of course that is quite understandable; there are few people who understand all aspects of aviation and aerospace.
The comparison to
Driving enthusiasts, bus drivers, auto assembly workers, and automotive engineers
is therefore a bit off, in the sense that all assembly workers and automotive engineers have their drivers license and operate cars on a daily basis. And rarely will a bus driver find himself driving while troubleshooting essential systems.
An electronics engineer in an aerospace company would go to electronics.stackexchange.com for her technical questions, but when she needs to understand the system requirements, whether they come from the end users or the regulation authorities, a Q&A site aimed at more than just pilots would be a great help.
In return she could explain how a system really works without the over simplifications or myths that are very common in aviation.
I've seen several aviation sites deteriorate into a pissing contest between self proclaimed Skygods exchanging their bizarre views on reality, never forgetting to mention how many XX thousand hours they have flown to substantiate their claims. This always goes together with a "this site is aimed at pilots and you're not a pilot so what could you possibly know?" mentality.
I am looking forward to a Q&A site that balances the operational side of aviation with all its other aspects, where people can freely ask and answer questions and be rewarded reputation based on their knowledge and manners, rather than on the number of hours they claim to have flown.
EDIT
In my view there are quite a number of example questions that have more aerospace in them than you might think at a first glance.
- What are the differences between groundspeed, indicated airspeed, and
true airspeed?
(And let's add equivalent airspeed, calibrated airspeed and Mach number to it as well. Aerodynamics with impact on a lot of avionics)
- How does an airplane wing generates lift ?
(Many ways to explain that, all probably with some truth in it. Excellent question, difficult to answer)
- How does "reverse thrust" work ? (When you know that usually most thrust is generated in the compression section (instead of the exhaust) of a jet engine, this is an interesting one)
- How does a constant speed propeller
work?
- Why does maneuvering speed (Va) change with aircraft weight? (Requires more than average knowledge about aircraft dynamics and stability to explain)
- How does a vertical speed indicator (VSI) work? (Analog or digital, barometric, intertial or blended? Ranges from very simple to very advanced systems)
- What is the difference between primary and secondary radar? (Working principles, frequencies, what you use them for, what are the advantages / disadvantages of both. electrotechnics / telecommunications / air traffic control)
- What is the difference between Mode A, Mode C and Mode S? (pulse formats, addressing scheme, data downlink. Electrotechnics / telecommunications / air traffic control)
- Are there structural or aerodynamic reasons for the higher gross weights of the later Cessna 182s vs. the earlier ones, or is it a matter of testing? (You see this in many aircraft models, for various reasons best known by the manufacturer. Certification)
- Aircraft performance: at which speed do you get the best climb speed / angle.
How does that relate to engine thrust & power (combination of mechanics and aerodynamics)
- Why is humid air less dense than dry air? (chemistry, physics with interesting consequences on aircraft performance)