Blog 14 – Interview 3 Preparation

How can aircraft manufacturers utilize today’s technology in order to be cost efficient?

~Although the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar was one of the most technologically advanced commercial aircraft during it's time, it was never truly able reach the success it's manufacturers had hoped for. Having faced multiple setbacks from design challenges to financial difficulties with it's engine manufacturer, the L-1011 entered the commercial aviation market a year too late. This, along with the 1973 Oil Crisis made it especially difficult for the L-1011 to find the necessary traction to enter the commercial aviation market.

1. Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?
1. I plan to interview my mentor, Dr. Eric Fodran. He is a materials and metallurgical engineer at Northrop Grumman in El Segundo, California.
2. Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule an interview. What is the date and time of the interview?
1. I will do my interview right before starting mentorship on January 16, 2016. The interview will most likely be at around 12 noon.
3. Phrase an open-ended question that will help you find research resources that would help to answer the EQ.
1. What are some strategies I can use in order to quickly find the research resources I need for my topic/project?
4. Phrase an open-ended question that will help you think about other useful activities you might do to help you answer the EQ (IC2, possible experts to talk to, etc).
1. What are some real life scenarios outside the aerospace field where finding this balance between cost and performance is crucial to the overall quality of the product?
5. Phrase two open-ended questions that help you to understand your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ.
1. What are some examples where you were able to reduce the cost of an aircraft/spacecraft, while still being able to retain its level of performance?
2. In terms of materials research/development, where do you often struggle with?

Blog 13 – 10 Hour Mentorship Check-In

~Definition of mentor.

1. Where are you doing your mentorship?
1. I do my mentorship with Eric Fodran. For the most part, we have only been meeting in places where it is easy for both of us to get to. Being able to do mentorship in his workplace is not really necessary because the majority of our work only requires the use of computers/electronic devices with internet capabilities. This is because my senior topic, Aerospace Engineering, is more about research; however, in some of our meetings, we have worked with actual objects/parts that can be found in aircraft.
2. Who is your contact?  What makes this person an expert?
1. My mentor is  Dr. Eric Fodran. He works in Prod Ops Manufacturing Technology Development at Northrop Grumman in El Segundo, California. He is considered to be an expert in Aerospace engineering because of his education and experience working in the Aerospace field.
3. How many  hours have you done during the school year? (Summer Mentorship Hours and Mentorship Hours should be reflected separately in your Senior Project Hours log located on the right hand side of your blog).
1. As of January 5th, 2015, I have done a total of 24 mentorship hours and 11 Independent Component 1 hours. More information about my hours can be found in the document “Senior Project Hours” in the right hand side of my blog.
4. Succinctly summarize what you did, how well you and your mentor worked together, and how you plan to complete the remaining hours.
1. For our first meeting, my mentor and I actually met at Northrop Grumman so he can show me some of the work they do. For most of the mentorship hours I’ve done, I have been working on research with my mentor. This doesn’t mean we just spend time on the computer doing research; we take notes and discuss certain topics that can be helpful in finding an answer for my essential question. We have worked very well together and I have learned a great deal from the hours of mentorship I have done with him. He is very helpful and always encourages me to think of possible answers to my essential question. Moreover, he is the one that guides me with my independent component and is currently helping me find a way I can move forward with my topic (Aerospace). I plan to complete my remaining hours by doing the same thing. While my essential question–how can an aircraft best utilize today’s technology in order to be cost efficient–may seem simple, there are actually countless of possible answers to this. My mentor and I hope to find the best answers through experimentation, like my independent component, and literature/research.

Blog 12 – Holiday Project Update

~During my mentorship over winter break, my mentor showed me some cross section shapes that are widely used in aircraft. These include hat stiffened panels(bonded hat), the integral blade stiffened, honey comb designs, and  C channels. Other designs I also came across were the sine wave spars and box beams(integral blade sandwich).

1. It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?
1. Over winter break, for my senior project, I mostly worked on my first independent component. My mentor and I decided that it would be best if we could come up with the final designs that we could use as a baseline. In other words, we wanted to have a set cross section wing design that is widely used in commercial aircraft. This is actually the second phase of my independent component(information about my first independent component can be found throughout my blog posts which are labeled “Independent Component”). The reason my mentor and I wanted to have set baseline designs is because we wanted to move on to experimentation as soon as possible. Even outside of mentorship, I spent a significant amount of time doing research for the independent component. Most of my research was about  cross section designs and shapes that we can use for my project.
2. What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?
1. From what I did over winter break, the most important thing I learned was that there are countless of possible cross section wing designs. Moreover, they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, my mentor showed me an interesting honeycomb design that is used in aircraft. The specific design he showed me was made from metals. Because my first independent component focuses more towards additive manufacturing, many of the designs we will be testing will be made of readily available materials. Although metals are widely used in  aircraft, they are often only used in subtractive manufacturing. When my mentor showed me the honeycomb design, he basically reminded me that I should not try to immediately rule out any materials that we can use.
3. Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?
1. For my third interview, I will probably interview my mentor, Dr. Eric Fodran. Although I have already interviewed him for the mentorship interview, we did not really talk much about my essential question. Moreover, I want to use this opportunity to start thinking about possible ideas for the second independent component.