Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Uses Partnership to Bring Education Full Circle
Friday, April 13, 2018
STILLWATER, Okla. – While in college, many students may not understand how the information they are reading in a book may translate into real-world situations. The Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology at Oklahoma State University wants to make sure that information is applied. And they are using partnerships to make that happen.
The MAE 4223 Aerospace Engineering Lab is paired with the Aero Capstone Project class in the last semester of the students’ senior year. Aero Lab is focused on developing student skill in aerospace experiment development and analysis with an emphasis on flight test engineering techniques. To receive the full experience, MAE has partnered with the Aviation and Space program (AVED) in the OSU College of Education, Health and Aviation to allow students a real flight in a Cessna 172.
“We’ve got planes and they’ve got people that want to see the inside of planes, and really need to for their future career,” said Evan Bird, AVED flight instructor. “I’m tickled to death because I know these [MAE students] that are going to be building and designing our future aircrafts have actually been in a plane before and I think a lot of other engineering programs can’t say that.”
Bird received his Bachelor of Science in Aviation Administration and Operations, Professional Pilot Option from OSU in 2017. Bird works at the OSU flight center as a certified flight instructor and instrument instructor, certifications he earned as part of the AVED program.
Since its inception in the early 80’s with eight students, the partnered course has continued to grow. This year, 72 students were enrolled in the course. Next year the class is expected to have over 80 students.
Before stepping foot inside the Cessna 172, the flight test portion of the course for MAE students uses a fixed base simulator lab to introduce flight test techniques, provide practice in executing a realistic flight test and prepare students for the real flight demonstration experience conducted by AVED student flight instructors. This helps them link the material from their previous courses in aerodynamics, performance, and stability and control to real-world behaviors in the airplane.
“The physiological environment of the real airplane adds yet another dimension to the experience,” said James Kidd, associate professor of MAE. “The overall goal is that our Aerospace engineering graduates have a solid appreciation for the implications of aircraft design decisions along with expertise on the technical material.”
Bret Valenzuela and Nick Foster are two of the MAE students in the course this semester. They will graduate in May with a bachelor’s in mechanical and aerospace engineering. Growing up, Valenzuela spent a lot of time at Tinker Air Force Base with his grandpa, a combat pilot, and he wanted to know how all the planes worked. Foster attended the pre-engineering academy at Francis Tuttle while in high school. The program taught him what engineering is and the specialization course options. Valenzuela and Foster found their place in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology at OSU.
“The aero lab course is a really cool opportunity,” said Foster. “Most of us are going into the aircraft side of things so getting to learn and see what the pilot sees and does is pretty critical. If you leave the pilot out of that equation, it’s bad engineering in general.”
Before taking part in the Cessna 172 flight demonstration with their AVED pilot, Valenzuela described his expectations for the flight.
“These planes are really well designed and so up there we’re checking the stability characteristics to compare to flight simulation we did with Dr. Kidd and then comparing that to all we’ve been doing on paper to see how they compare and actually check out,” said Valenzuela. “I will speak to the pilot and request for him to do certain maneuvers and [Foster] will take data off the digital read out and then we’ll go back and sift through the data and compare the plots.”
After their flight, Foster and Valenzuela understood the importance of this project and partnership as well.
“It’s a big difference between the feeling when you’re in an aircraft verses just the simulator,” said Foster. “Seeing it all happen and feeling it all happen are just really different. It was super cool.”
It is thanks to the partnership of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology and the College of Education, Health and Aviation that students in the MAE program at OSU are able to see their education come full circle.
RELEASE CONTACT: Kylie Fanning | CEAT Marketing | 405-744-2745 | kyliecf@okstate.edu
Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant university that prepares students for success. OSU has more than 35,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 24,000 on its combined Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with students from all 50 states and around 120 nations. Established in 1890, Oklahoma State has graduated more than 240,000 students who have been serving the state of Oklahoma, the nation and the world.
##
