Next Friday, December 22, the Fredericksburg High School Engineering/Rocket Program will dismiss for Christmas break. When they do, five weeks will have passed since the last update on their program. This is a busy group, and there is plenty to report on their learning and progress as we wrap up the fall semester.
The Freshman have been learning about production/manufacturing engineering and have recently completed their project which was an orange juice manufacturing factory design. The class split into working groups of four because of the complexity of the problem. Their product goal for the plant was to take raw material and produce packaged juice in palletized product bundles ready for sale. According to Mr. Matthes, “It was a successful endeavor with lots of different results when it came to the challenging research it required.”
On Friday, December 15, they presented their latest project over engineering fluidity. Each student was expected to work independently to create new launch lugs for the senior level rocket. Their new lug designs need to be more aerodynamic than the current lugs. Each student was able to show what they were capable of on their own, instead of having the co-dependency of fellow students. This solo venture challenged them to create a multiview drawing of their own new design, as well as featuring their understanding of units of measurement and how they all work together, something that will be of great significance for their final project in the future, which is to research the math and then design a hybrid rocket motor. A highly significant amount of math and even more units will require their careful attention in that upcoming project . What they are learning as they work through this propulsion/aerospace problem will become relevant to them again when they begin their junior studies in 19 months. Therefore it is an important study in which to end the course.
Just to remind everyone, the Sophomore students are still working in a self paced manner in this year’s class. Therefore a good growth mark for them in their class progress is 3D printing, which they have recently begun. They have also shown marked achievement in their Autocad, Dimensioning and Isometric drawing skills. In part this is due to their receptiveness to all the constructive feedback.
Luke Duderstadt working on Autocad.
“They have advanced tremendously in their attention to detail, ability to see things with greater special awareness, and pride in workmanship. The transformation has been fun to witness,” states Mr. Matthes.
LabVIEW programming is an important focus for the juniors. At this point, Mr. Matthes says it is too early to tell their final success in this area, but so far, they are progressing well.
Fluids and aerodynamic drag have been the focus of their studies related to rockets these past five weeks. After learning these new skills, they were able to test them on the design and development of their Generation 3 rockets. In order to do this, they had to create a rocket that was stable with exactly a ‘margin’ of 1 while reaching 1800 feet in RockSim simulation and design software. Students were able to launch their actual Gen 3 rockets on Friday, Dec. 15 after they had in class rocket presentations and evaluations that morning. Additionally they were further challenged with a short deadline in which to create these rockets. They met this head on and were ready for presentations.
“It was collectively the best group of Gen 3 flights I have seen in years,” reports Mr. Matthes.
Bradley Plaza and Carl Wilger prepare to launch their Generation 3 rocket.
Jabin Gipson and Rudy Avila model their Generation 3 rocket on launch day.
They will detail the many lessons they learned, including results from mistakes in design, construction, evaluation process, and the significance of attention to detail in their post mission analysis (PMA). As they begin their second semester project, all these lessons will be critical learning tools in the success of this larger rocket.
Mr. Matthes reported, ” I was thoroughly impressed with all of them. It was the kind of work ethic that will make their senior year a success if they can manage to keep up the motivation and focus.”
Critical design reviews (CDR) are the main focus for seniors on all four of their projects, which include the Red Bird #19 Rocket, a wind tunnel, the NASA large motor test stand, and the Small HyperTek interface test stand, known as Baby Bird. Currently the group is running short on time their schedules and task lists are not reflecting all that they should. There is a possibility that they are either not aware of all that they have missed, or they are really close to being ready. Mr. Matthes is unsure at this point which one it is.
Pictured here is the seniors’ flow straightener prototype for their wind tunnel. It was 3D printed on a Makerbot.
They are scheduled to hold a preliminary design review with alumni at 10:00 on Wednesday, January 10th, here in the classroom. A full CDR will be due at the end of January.
“One potential reality is that if it becomes evident there is not enough time for everything, some project(s) may require postponing. We are hoping for the best,” states Mr. Matthes.
On Friday, December 22, 2017 at 10:30 in Mr. Matthes’ classroom, last year’s alumni will be presented with their banner for flying the Red Bird #18 at White Sands Missile Range. Seniors will have a question and answer session with alumni to share experiences and receive advice.
At 7:00 p.m. also on Friday the 22nd, all alumni of the Fredericksburg Aeroscience/Engineering program are invited to come to Hondo’s and join Mr. Williams and Mr. Matthes for visiting over dinner and drinks. It will be casual, come and go as you like bringing significant others and friends as desired.
Mr. Matthes reminds all program students, “In January, the spring program begins and deadlines and target dates for their projects become highly important in order to meet projected launch dates.”
NEW YOU (National Engineers Week Youth Outreach United) continues its progress in planning the 4th-8th grade engineering outreach event to be held on February 17th. Look for more in the newspaper and students of those grades bring home flyers in January.
www.systemsgo.org as always is the place for more information on this program. You may also email them at info@systemsgo.org . Take the time to get your school involved, the future of your students will be greatly benefited.
On the Wings of Angels 