Property, Plant, and Equipment, Net (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment held for sale	$ 8,306	$ 0
Property, plant and equipment remaining	2,600
Assets planned to be disposed of as a result of relocation	650
Depreciation expense	71,389	55,140	$ 41,550
Second Campus Rockford Illinois [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Construction in progress	32,248	49,347
Drake Campus Fort Collins Colorado Member
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Construction in progress	3,967	15,584
Office furniture and equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Gross assets acquired on capital leases	1,650	1,653
Accumulated depreciation on capital lease assets	$ 1,158	$ 739

Amount before accumulated depreciation of leased physical assets used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services.

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The total charge for the use of long-lived depreciable assets subject to a lease meeting the criteria for capitalization.

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Amount of structure or a modification to a structure under construction. Includes recently completed structures or modifications to structures that have not been placed into service.

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The amount of expense recognized in the current period that reflects the allocation of the cost of tangible assets over the assets' useful lives. Includes production and non-production related depreciation.

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Amount classified as property, plant and equipment attributable to disposal group held for sale or disposed of, expected to be disposed of after one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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The carrying amount on the books of the entity of assets to be disposed of by a method other than sale as a result of Woodward's Duarte facility relocation.

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Amount after accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization of physical assets used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services at the Woodward Duarte facility that are not classified as held for sale as of the balance sheet date.

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