This semester has been keeping me busy. That is one of the main reason I am blogging after a month of this 2nd semester. Nonetheless, it has been amazing and much more fun than the 1st. I love the Conceptual Design class taught by Prof. Helbling. It goes into the details about how and why is lift created and how it should be maintained. All the topics in the classes are the ones that make Aeronautical Engineering the way it is; amazing.
The first assignment was to build a paint can holder. As a team of 6, we made a design that can hold 1 gallon paint can by attaching the holder to a ladder, or holding it using the handle. A complete report was written by the team describing each step of the design process: Problem Identification, Preliminary Ideas, Refinement, Analysis, Final Decision and, Conclusion and Recommendations. I think our team wrote the best report in the class. After this assignment, we started off with CATIA. It is a really easy soft ware and interesting too. Since it is build around the Windows design and format, the learning curve is steep. One can grasp the concepts really fast and easy.
Statics has been the next amazing class in this semester. Prof. Ashworth surely keeps everyone entertained. Even though the topics are familiar, there are still minute differences which matters a lot. Tech Report Writing is the only non-engineering class that I am taking this semester and it doesn’t seems to be bad at all. This class is a lot of help when it comes to writing the reports and official documents.
I have started off my research on airfoils with Dr. Traub. After reading the journals, I have been looking for an inverse airfoil design program. I did try AeroFoil but the stupid Vista 64-bit doesn’t allow me to use it on my laptop. I believe it is going to be a fun and informative research, if I am able to carry it forward. As for the Jet Dragster Project, we are stuck at a dead end. The team is supposed to build the whole Chassis Jig in CATIA or Solidworks. However, no one knows how to use the tubing discipline and make welds in CATIA. Welds and tubes can be made in SolidWorks. However, it can be done only in one plane. If anyone has got any suggestions about any such program, please leave a comment.
I am excited for March 14th! I am going back to India for the Spring Break. I would be coming back on March 23rd. So, I get to stay for a complete week in my home. It is going to be a real good Spring Break!
Alright, I need to get a lot of homework done, study for 2 exams and keep looking for the programs.
Have fun!