UT Arlington wins 2nd place at AIAA Student Paper Competition
Philip Wilson and Khushi Piparava (above) won 2nd place for presentation of their paper "Design of Aerospike Nozzles for Rotating Detonation Engines using Computational Fluid Dynamics and Machine Learning Techniques" at the AIAA Student Paper Competition at Oklahoma State University on 5 April. Khushi reported, “It was our first AIAA conference and it was an amazing learning experience!” UTA Assistant Professor and AIAA Senior Member Liwei Zhang is the 3rd author of the paper (available on request).
High School Member Leslie Nava awarded 2024 AIAA Roger W. Kahn Scholarship
Leslie Nava from I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM and VPA in Fort Worth is the recipient of one of only four 2024 AIAA Roger W. Kahn Scholarships. Leslie says she plans to attend Georgia Tech and study Aerospace Engineering along with Air Force ROTC. Each winner receives a $10,000 scholarship. AIAA introduced its High School Student Membership in 2021 as part of its commitment to becoming a vital lifelong link for student to access reliable resources and growth opportunities. AIAA Membership is FREE for high school students and instructors. Sign up at https://www.aiaa.org/membership?SSO=Y
The Roger W. Kahn Scholarship was created to honor the memory of Roger Kahn (M) (1907–1962) and his passion for aviation and entertainment. Kahn, pictured above, spent the latter part of his career at Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation as a test pilot and then managed the technical service and sales division. In the 1940s, Kahn was actively involved with the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences (one of the predecessor organizations of AIAA) and later served as its vice president. Kahn also was an accomplished jazz musician as early as the 1920s, composing songs often featured in stage productions and early films, as well as leading numerous orchestras. He became a recording artist for some of the first record labels including Victor, Brunswick, and Columbia. The royalties from songs he wrote were used to fund this scholarship. The 2024 Kahn Scholarship recipients will be recognized during the AIAA Awards Gala on 15 May at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Each of the recipients also will be matched with an AIAA professional member as a mentor who will help guide them on their career path.
FTE/Test Pilot Katie Blake inspires students at UT Arlington
A flight test engineer (FTE) and test pilot with Genesys Aerosystems in Mineral Wells, TX, Katie Blake M described her path through school, flight training, internships, and early jobs into flight testing where her company tests numerous avionic system upgrades on multiple platforms from aircraft to helicopters. The presentation on 18 April was primarily attended by students with some professionals. Katie’s message was to start extra effort early doing anything with aircraft and aviation to develop your skills and knowledge. Also, making and keeping good contacts in the business is important and helped her get this latest flight test job. The AIAA UTA Student and North Texas chapters hosted the event at UT Arlington with pizza and drinks.
Lunch-and-Learn
Written in the Stars: How Fuel Systems Flight Testing can grab People’s Attention - A321XLR
Jim Fawcett SM
Airbus Lead Flight Test Engineer, Toulouse, France
Friday, 26 April
1230 CDT
Join Zoom Meeting
https://aiaa.zoom.us/j/88296954864?pwd=req4RUidFRyLeYZHLWTuIR9ZlUBHtL.1
Meeting ID: 882 9695 4864
Passcode: 963869
The Airbus A321XLR took flight in 2022, the latest development for a product with more than 30 years of heritage. Promising new standards in customer comfort and making hitherto uneconomic routes viable, the aircraft is equipped with a brand new fuel system architecture as well as modifications to many other components including the flight controls, flaps, landing gear and cabin-related systems. An early target of the test campaign was to illustrate the good functioning of the fuel system over a maximum duration flight - the A321XLR being capable of flying for 13 hours or more. This presentation will explain the efforts of an enterprising flight test crew to make such a long flight interesting for the general public whilst at the same time meeting the testing objectives set by the design office.
Lunch-and-Learn
Wind Turbine Testing at the Boundary Layer and Subsonic Wind Tunnel (BLAST) at UT Dallas
Nir Saar Maor
UT Dallas Graduate Student
Friday, 24 May
12:00 CDT
Following an introduction of the UTD BLAST and how they utilize the wind tunnel in a variety of ways, Nir will discuss their research into how grove structures, known as riblets, can help reduce friction on an airfoil and, in turn, increase power output of a wind turbine.
Teams Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MjQzMDc5YzYtNjkzMC00MmJmLWFhYTMtNzNiZTBjM2ViNGIw%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%228d281d1d-9c4d-4bf7-b16e-032d15de9f6c%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22bfb3f071-8350-4c5e-8f7b-02f0032f93cb%22%7d
2024 Calendar
26 April
Lunch-and-Learn (Teams) - Written in the Stars: How Fuel Systems Flight Testing can grab People’s Attention, Jim Fawcett SM, 12:30pm
24 May
Lunch-and-Learn (Teams) - Wind Turbine Testing at the Boundary Layer and Subsonic Wind Tunnel (BLAST) at UT Dallas, Nir Saar Maor, 12:00pm
20 July
AIAA/SFTE/SETP STEM Event at Moon Day - Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas Love Field
29 July–2 August
AIAA AVIATION + ASCEND - Las Vegas, NV
26 October
SFTE/ SETP/AIAA - Southwest Aerospace Symposium