Summer Life – Delta Air Lines Internship

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Kyle

Hey all! I hope everyone is having a great summer as we fly into the month of June. My month of May was quite eventful; I wrapped up finals at the beginning of the month and then headed up to start my summer internship at Delta on May 12th. I’m working with the great folks in the Network Planning department where a large group of individuals plan where and how we are going to fly all of the routes that are out for sale to the public. The process isn’t as easy as saying you’re flying from point A to B at this time, it is a very choreographed process with tons of steps between deciding when and where to fly and how they are actually going to do it.

: Sabre AirVision is the software that we use in Network Planning to schedule all of the flights that Delta operates.

My internship started off very quickly as I quickly became acclimated with our scheduling software, Sabre AirVision. The product is very easy to use and not only contains the flight schedule that we are working with, but it also generates reports on things such as flights that may have the same number as another (duplicates, which you cannot have on the same day) and hours that airplane types and crews will fly (we only have so many airplanes and pilots and crews are restricted by the FAA on how many hours they can fly in a day). I cannot imagine scheduling flights without a product such as this one.

Putting together the schedule is quite a challenge because of dozens of things that the normal traveler doesn’t see. Things such as performing overnight maintenance on our fleet and keeping the number of flights coming into and out of a hub within max limitations is a very hard task due to the number of flights that we are trying to fly in a day. The Delta system is based around a hub-and-spoke style layout and every hub has special characteristics that the folks in Network Planning have to keep in mind. No one flying on an airline likes delayed or cancelled flights and it is our job to make sure that every flight gets off the ground as planned, on-time through major planning months before the day of the flight.

Traveling while interning at Delta is a must! I went to NYC for the first time over Memorial Day and it was a fantastic experience!

One great perk of interning at Delta is the flight benefit package. A normal intern has the opportunity to non-rev, or fly anywhere in the world for minimal or no cost at all as long as there is an open seat in the cabin, aka a non-revenue generating seat and passenger for the airline. So far I have worked at Delta for three weeks and have gone home to Indiana twice and to New York City, Myrtle Beach, and Daytona Beach all once. Being an airline intern definitely has its perks other than gaining awesome experience behind the scenes. I cannot wait to use my non-rev benefits to travel around the world!

Delta World Headquarters, known as the G.O. by employees, is an awesome place to work and I am extremely honored to have been chosen to work for and represent such a well respected and successful entity. Stay tuned for blogs in the coming weeks and months from here in Atlanta!

Happy flying,

Kyle

First Week on the Job

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Carolyn

Hello Again! I have officially started my internship as of last Monday. Fortunately, I was already surrounded by people that work at the same place before I even started. My roommate, Sharelle, is an employee at the Space and Naval Systems Center (SPAWAR), where I will be interning for the next four months. Since I flew out to San Diego, I was without a car and she was kind enough to drive me to orientation on the first day. She even offered to give me a ride everyday, but I’ve had different plans in mind.

I found an apartment only 4 miles away from work. So on my second day in San Diego, I went to a local bike shop and bought a replacement for my Corolla. This week I have been biking back and forth between work and home, 4 miles each way. After 8 miles each day, I will not need to worry about working out, paying for gas, or finding a parking spot. There’s only one problem. I work on a CLIFF! And that is no joke. The start of my ride in the morning is at about 50 feet, and after pushing my bike… err, I mean riding my bike up daunting hills I end up at work, 400 feet above the water. Although, I can’t complain about my view. I have to force myself to do work with the entire skyline of downtown, the bay filled with sails and hulls, the approaching ocean, and stunning mountains in my window.

I was very nervous going in my first day. I started at the carding office where I got my picture taken for badges; on the positive side, I resemble Gary Busey at his current age in my photo. On a military base, you need certain forms of identification if you want to even get past the gate. Although my cards were not ready, I found another intern in the office with the same problem. It was the first day for both of us, so once we got the cards to get us through the gate we walked through the area we would be working. After a few hours orientation had started and we were briefed on the normal first-day precautions. “Don’t lend people your badge. Don’t talk about your work to friends. Don’t stare into the high frequency lasers.”

After orientation, I had my first taste of San Diego-Mexican food. Which is the best you’ll find in America. I was too excited to see my actual workplace to think about tacos, though. For my first few days, my boss was out of town. My temporary, 3-day bosses were Dan and Michael. Dan being an experienced human factors specialist, taught me some cool testing techniques I had not yet learned in my classes. With his retirement being only 2 weeks away, I tried to absorb as much of his knowledge and wisdom as possible before saying so-long. Michael is a younger employee, and more of a network security professional than a user-centered designer. The branch I work for recognized his specialty and took him in as soon as they could. I noticed that there was a variety of people with diverse backgrounds in our “User-Centered Design” branch. Anyone from computer engineers, software engineers, human factors specialists, network security professionals, or even those with a general psychology background. This made me feel better about finding a career one day.

That afternoon I walked home and managed to find my way with the help of my iPhone. By the time I got home I just wanted to eat and sleep until the next day. Therefore, I ignored all responsibilities and did just that. The next day consisted of many meetings. The first was a division meeting, so the room was filled with higher-ups and representatives from each branch. I got the chance to see the leaders of different branches and departments nervous to present, just like a college student in a speech class. So, I laughed quietly to myself at their expense (if you haven’t found out by now, I have a cynical sense of humor).

Throughout the week, I went to many different meetings exploring what the people in my branch were working on. Since this is government work and I have a secret clearance, I will not be able to write in detail about what I learned. I can give a few general ideas about the awesome work these people are doing, though. They are working on anything from designing a controller for remote operators of unmanned vehicles to designing displays for military ground and water-based vehicles. I was so surprised at how much these experienced professionals were doing the same type of work I have been learning in my classes. Upon starting the job, I thought everything would be different. Although they have different theories and work domains, a lot of the techniques remain the same.

On Friday, I was worn out from excitement overload. There is a lot to learn here and I am just getting started. I am thankful for the degree program I decided to major in. There are so many places and so many projects with open doors for human factors input.

Upcoming Summer Games!!

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Andreia

So as of now, I’m well into my internship. I’ve done so much already it’s hard to believe I’ve only been there just a few weeks. The first day, I made Facebook post the entire day. I couldn’t believe it. It was fun and enjoyable, I just couldn’t believe that was my job for the day.

A few week ago, Special Olympics Kansas (SOKS) went to GARMIN for a health fair to promote healthy communities. Believe it or not, it was only my 3rd day on the job and I was already answering people’s questions on “What is Special Olympics?”. I was in shock! So that day I got to get out the office and spend a few hours at a booth, promoting SOKS Midnight Run, and other healthy living choices.

Since the Special Olympics Summer Games is coming up on June 6th, every one is kicking things into gear. My highlight of the preparation was being able to write the opening ceremony script for the CEO of Special Olympics Kansas (SOKS). I wrote the scripts for the “Hall of Fame” winners and the “Make A Difference” awards. I even got to do a phone interview for one of the winners. It felt soooo good being able to do that. The CEO even took a look at my script & most of his changes were how we would say things. The Summer Games will be in Wichita, Kansas this year and I’m really pretty excited because I want to see Cessna stadium & all the Cessna stuff down there.

A couple of other duties have been: reaching out to athletic companies to advertise events, press releases, opening ceremonies scripts, and a WHOLE bunch of other stuff. I’m just glad that my boss is giving me REAL work to do that actually means something, and not something just to keep me busy. On top of all that, I still have time to watch Netflix when I’m not writing up press releases or doing social media posts.

I’m really pumped up for this internship and still can’t believe it… Until next time 🙂

Arriving in San Diego

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Carolyn

Flying into downtown San Diego

I can remember my first day of school. My mother dressed me in a big, puffy skirt and styled my hair in the same trend as Pebbles Flintstone to make a good impression. After my parents took my picture, they left me with 25 other screaming, hyperactive children. I was a little alarmed and nervous being on my own for the first time. Back then, my biggest concern would have been: Who will feed me? What if I get sleepy and need to take a nap? What if I get in trouble for stealing Timmy’s lunch?

Well, 15 years later, I can honestly say I had the same fears in getting ready for my internship. Okay, okay, maybe the “stealing Timmy’s lunch” thing was a little silly. I don’t know anyone named Timmy, and besides I think Michael has been the one mad at me for stealing his lunch at work lately. I was still scared. Worried I wouldn’t be able to take care of myself, or wouldn’t be able to get to work, or scared my apartment wouldn’t be ready and I’d be living in a van down by the river with my newfound homeless friends. Not only was this not the case, but everything turned out better than I could have hoped for.

About 2 months ago, I found out I was accepted to the Office of Naval Research’s Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program under the American Society for Engineering Education. 3 HUGE names! I was hired for ten weeks in the summer as a human factors engineer/user-centered designer. A few weeks later I was asked if I would be interested in extending my internship. Do I want to stay in sunny San Diego a few extra weeks and make even more money? Is that even a real question? Well, it must be rhetorical because there really is only one answer to that.

I got on the plane in Orlando at 11 am, flew to Dallas Fort-Worth, and arrived in San Diego at 6 pm. Seeing the glowing city with Naval battleships soaking in the bay as we came in for landing got me even more excited about the next few months of my life. As soon as I picked up my bags at the claim, I walked out into the summer heat and got a taxi. It was a 5-minute drive to my new apartment. The driver couldn’t find the apartment number, so I walked partly to the condo (and tipped him very low). Along the way, I found my landlord who met with me that night to give me my key for the next four months and to introduce me to my two roommates, Sharelle (25) and Laura (31). After the landlord left, Sharelle took me to Trader Joes, a small grocery store close by. We then got pizza at a restaurant in the same building. All the stores and restaurants were a 5-minute walk up the street surrounded by Spanish-style buildings and villas. We ate our food and brought our groceries back to the apartment. I finally got a chance to unpack and get settled in my room. The location is actually a 3-story condo owned by our landlord. It was brand new and very clean. I had a queen-size bed with new sheets waiting there for me. My room is the only one on the first floor. Growing up around 3 sisters and a brother, I wasn’t used to having so much privacy.

I woke up the next few days feeling as if I was on vacation. Since I was a week early, I had time to sleep in and visit the popular areas around San Diego. The first full day there, I walked around the city getting anything I needed to feel comfortable in my new apartment. The next day I went to the park, bathed in the radiant sun, and ended the relaxing day at a market on the beach. My roommates called it the hippie market, because it was run by, well, you know… “free-spirits.” Walking down the street I saw foods from almost every continent. There was hand-made jewelry, fresh, exotic fruits, and anything from bright scarves to leather halter-tops. The market ended at a band playing on the beach. This was my first time seeing the Pacific. I felt so small standing next to it, especially with the mile long boardwalk extending out above my head. The people lining the sand of the beach were the epitome of what I would expect to find in California. It was a very diverse crowd consisting of “free-spirits”, hula-hooping enthusiasts, motorcycle gangs, and the surfers out in the water.

Avid hula-hoopers

Finally got to step in a different ocean.

The next day was spent exploring historic San Diego. The entire day, my roommate and I walked through Old Town. Eating burritos, drinking a margarita or two, window-shopping the tourist trap shops. I know what you’re thinking, “How can anyone spend an entire day in an awful tourist trap?” Try finding the name “Carolyn,” on a souvenir. Any souvenir! Aside from the shops, there were beautifully restored buildings housing the many restaurants. Mexican culture was celebrated in a majority of them with colorful flags waving in the breeze, and performers Salsa dancing for the entertainment of others. It was hard to come home that night knowing work would start in just two days.

A good place to go on my breaks from work.

Only 10 minutes from where I live!

As my internship just officially started this past Monday, I will be posting about it in my next entry. Keep coming by…

Hello Summertime!

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Paige

It’s official you guys. Summer is here!! I am extremely happy with how the semester ended and am grateful that I pulled off all A’s! Woohoo! Now it’s full time at the jet shop for this girl. This is my first day off since summer started and it feels good to recuperate a little because we’ve definitely been working hard! As I mentioned before, my new position at Larsen Motorsports is the co-host of the Jet Technology Center presented by Embry-Riddle.

Blogging by the pool

The 2014 race season actually started back in March, where we attended our first IHRA Nitro Jam in Tucson, Arizona. This would be the first race debuting the Fastest Girls in Town! The fans are hyped, the team is ready to showcase their hard work, and everyone is ready for a great night of racing! Let’s just say that this race did not go our way. We did not have a spectacular start to the season that we had hoped for. Kat Moller, in her Matrix Systems jet dragster, scrubbed the wall during her first run down the quarter-mile, Elaine Larsen had a FOD (Foreign Object Debris) issue with her engine in her Miller Welding jet dragster, and Dawn Perdue’s Sport Aviation jet dragster had an electrical short causing it to shut off after the smoke and fire show. Man oh man could it get any worse?!

Jet car maintenance at the racetrack!

Chris Larsen, President of Larsen Motorsports

Despite all of the troubles that the Larsen Motorsports teams were faced with, I can definitely say that the LMS teams display the true meaning of teamwork. The team worked until five in the morning swapping an engine in Elaine’s car and still gave it their all at the racetrack the next day. Our morale and positive energy sure did take a hit that weekend, but do you want to know the secret to our success? How on earth could we possibly recover from such a stressful and heartbreaking weekend? Well, the key to our success is passion. Every member of the LMS team truly loves what they do and would sacrifice so much to make this team stronger. I love working with a team who are just as passionate as I am because it makes all the difference!

Packing parachutes

Our next races were in San Antonio, Texas in April, and West Palm & Bradenton, Florida at the beginning of May. I know I can speak for all of us when I say that we had a whole new appreciation when things did go our way. These next few races were smooth sailing compared to the first race of the season. My family drove from Houston to come see us race for the first time in San Antonio and it was so exciting to have them finally experience their first LMS jet race!

My family at the racetrack

My parents enjoying the race

My sister Savannah (left) and cousin Taylor (right)

This summer will go down as one of the best summers in my life! Traveling with the Larsen Motorsports team is going to be an incredible experience that not many people can say they’ve done. I am truly grateful that I get to represent Embry-Riddle during my travels and share with people all of the amazing projects that I work on as a Mechanical Engineering student. We will leave for Canada at the beginning of June for a month for our races up north. I will be sure to keep you updated on our adventure!

ERAU Prescott Jet Dragster Team joining us in Tucson, AZ

Team Whataburger run in Texas

Touring the Simpson Factory in San Antonio

Embry-Riddle Jet Dragster

I will also be posting jet dragster fast facts videos throughout the summer so you will have the opportunity to expand your jet dragster knowledge. Check out the first few below:

Fast Facts – Chassis Fabrication
https://vimeo.com/93392661

Jet Shop Update – Post Race Inspections
https://vimeo.com/95152906

Jet Shop Update – Repairing Turbine Nozzle
https://vimeo.com/95159751

Jet Shop Update – Removing Lower Turbine Case
https://vimeo.com/95161053

I arrived in Rockingham, North Carolina this afternoon for our next IHRA Nitro Jam! I will be spending my 21st birthday at the racetrack doing what I love and I couldn’t be more excited! Lookout for some awesome jet racing pictures!

Life Update…Prepare Yourself!

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Paige

I admit, it’s been way too long since I’ve last updated you guys! So prepare yourself, because not even I expected this much to happen to me since August. Let’s just say that I have been extremely blessed. I am so grateful for all of the amazing opportunities that I have been given. It’s such a great feeling to reflect on all of the goals that I have set for myself since the start of my college career and to see them come to life. Don’t get me wrong, my junior year of college has also been the toughest for me. I’ve definitely had my fair share of struggles, but have managed to get through them shiny side up with the support of my family, hard work, and my strong faith in God.

So here is a quick summary of everything that you’ve missed. Last semester I unexpectedly took on the role of president of my sorority in order to fill the position of a sister who took an internship. It also happened to be the same semester that I was taking my toughest classes. I somehow managed to pull through while still maintaining a 3.9 GPA. It was a very stressful time, but I learned so much being the leader of my sorority and wouldn’t change it for anything. My best advice to get through times like these: don’t be afraid to take on a challenge, even if it looks impossible. During times like these, you will surprise yourself at your potential and what you are really capable of accomplishing. I know that this was the case for me. I really learned the meaning of being a leader and also learned how important it is to push aside any prideful thoughts and ask for help when I really needed it.

Speedweeks in February was definitely one of the highlights this year. Because I interned with NASCAR last summer, the department I worked with was awesome enough to get me passes to every race. I made it to as many races as I could, despite all of the assignments and tests that were thrown on me. I went to the Sprint Unlimited and NASCAR Home Tracks promoters hospitality event, the Camping World Truck Series race, Nationwide race, Daytona 500, Battle at the Beach, and saw the K&N East Series race at New Smyrna Speedway. You could say I was in heaven.

At the end of February, I got to take the trip of a lifetime!! This year I was selected as one of the Boeing scholarship recipients. Boeing invited all of the scholarship recipients from the Prescott and Daytona campuses to come tour the Boeing factory in Seattle, all expenses paid for. This was the first time that Boeing has ever done anything like this, so it was truly and honor to be selected to go on this trip. It was absolutely incredible walking through the factory where Boeing manufactures all of their planes, and then to walk on the flightline where these planes are delivered to the customers. We also were able to walk through a brand new 787 and 777! Can it get any better than that??

One of my goals for this year was to get involved in more engineering projects and focus more on my academic involvement because I already have a lot of experience with the social organizations I am involved in. I am proud to say that I have been initiated into Tau Beta Pi (an engineering honor society), Order of Omega (an honor society for Greek organizations), and I am currently working on a project that involves the design of a jet engine test cell. Last semester I was involved in Formula SAE as a Special Topics credit. Special Topics is such a great way to get hands-on project experience while also receiving credit hours towards your degree program. I was a part of the engine team and assisted in the selection of new engine and the preliminary design report.

I’m happy to say that I have continued my work at Larsen Motorsports and am officially traveling to every IHRA Nitro Jam race with the team for the 2014 season! How lucky can a girl get?! I have taken on a marketing position with Embry-Riddle in order to market the university in conjunction with Larsen Motorsports. As a result, I get to work every event with the team in the all new Jet Technology Center presented by Embry-Riddle. This is an interactive fan experience at the race track that will take fans through the engineering, human factors, fabrication, and art work behind every jet dragster. Fans will have the opportunity to see future Larsen Motorsports jet dragsters built in front of their own eyes.

Over Spring Break I went home to Houston for part of the week to catch up with the family. It was definitely a much needed trip and nothing ever beats going back to Texas. Some of the highlights included Whataburger (of course), Houston Rodeo (always a tradition), amazing Mexican food, family time, a new cowboy hat, and home-cooked meals!

At the end of the week, I traveled to Tucson, Arizona for the first race of season with the Larsen Motorsports (LMS) teams! This year the LMS teams doubled in size. The team consists of 4 female jet dragster drivers who come from a variety of backgrounds but all have a passion for racing. Elaine Larsen, co-owner of Larsen Motorsports drivers the Miller Welding jet dragster. Marisha Falk, a double Embry-Riddle alumnae, drives the Embry-Riddle jet dragster. Kat Moller, one of the newest LMS drivers, drives the Matrix Systems jet dragster. And lastly, Dawn Perdue, the 2nd newest driver, drives the Sport Aviation jet dragster. Last weekend I headed back to Texas for the second race of the season in San Antonio! I’ll update you guys later about life on the road with the Larsen Motorsports teams. I have so much to tell you about our first two races and I’ll even include my race recaps.

Lastly, I am excited to announce the launching of my new website!! It was designed by Star Computer Services, a business that my parents own. I guess having your mom design websites for a living has its perks. (: Check it out! I would love your support! www.paigesanchez.com

Be on the lookout for race updates next week!

Just Plane Crazy

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Zachary

The Piper Pawnee tows the ASK21 gilder

My spring break started out pretty normal as far as Riddle-kids go. I slept in a little, I read a few hundred pages of Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis”, and I took pictures of airplanes. I was satisfied with my quiet spring break, but it got much better on the Thursday of that week when a few good friends of mine from the Sport Aviation Club (SAC) called me up. ERAU students Matt Colan and Billy Janus invited me to join them and a few others at Pierson Municipal Airport (2J8), a 2,600 foot grass strip located on the OMN VOR 260 radial at 18.4 miles. They needed a cameraman for some aerial shots they were after. Folks in aviation say, “It’s good to know people”, well that came true in a rather modest way that day. It was a perfect day to play in the sky, one of those days that you live in Florida for. Let me put you there:

The winds are westerly at 5-7 knots; a refreshing breeze is satisfying under the 82 degree sun which warms your skin. Above you, clear blue sky arcs in all directions with some wandering lines of clouds. The smell of freshly cut grass hangs in the air, reminding me of the football field. Oh yes, this was a good day.

From left to right, Matt Colan, Billy janus, and Martin Hollatz.

For the flight we would have a Piper J-3 Cub flown in by Mike Breshears, and an ASK-21 glider trailered in by Martin Hollatz. Both of these aircraft are owned by Eagle Sport Aviation (ESA), a flying club based in Deland. A PA-25 Pawnee was also present, the Pawnee is the tow-plane for the gliders based at Pierson. An old cropduster, the Pawnee is basically the equivalent of an airborne tractor. After unpacking the glider, we had a careful discussion of the planned formation, as well as what photographs we’d like. We take safety seriously, even in simple operations.

The Piper J-3 Cub

When everyone was happy with the plans, it was time to go fly! I got to cram myself into a Cub for the first time ever, and it was also the first time I’ve been in a tail-wheel aircraft. Getting in a Cub requires gymnast-like precision when you’re 6’4”. I’ve been pretty fond of the aircraft for some time, so it was a proud moment. Earlier last year I had helped put some of the coating on the fabric of that very aircraft, while SAC and ESA were recovering the wings. The Piper Cub is a simple aircraft, and one of the things it lacks is a starter for the engine. This means the prop must be pulled through for the engine to start, which is called “hand-propping”. With a yell of “contact!” and a quick pull the 65 horsepower engine churned to life. We lined up on runway 5, and Michael pushed up the throttle. A few hundred short bouncy feet later we we’re aloft. The Cub’s door is located on the right side and is removable, so it was kept off for best photography results. Martin and Matt were in the glider, so we communicated over a transceiver to coordinate our formation as well as a photo pass at high speed. We spent about an hour in the air, and Michael even let me take controls for a bit. The Cub has a stick rather than a yoke, and it felt light in my hands. I thought of Lindbergh, Bleriot, Saint-Exupery, Amelia, and other early aviators who often flew with a stick at aviation’s dawn. The words of the poem High Flight, by John Gillespie Magee also came to mind as we soared through the morning air. I also relearned the importance of rudder for coordinated flight; we’re pretty spoiled with these Cessna Skyhawks. The flight re-invigorated the part of me that wants to get a tailwheel endorsement; it’s been dormant for quite a while. Does anyone know a good instructor? I’m a firm believer that it would make me a better pilot.

After the Cub flight it was time for the Yellow friend to head back to Eagle-Sport Aviation at Deland Airport (KDED). So I took a few more photos of Mike taking off again to head home, what a great time it was! Matt Colan had brought one of his RC planes, an Extreme flight Edge 540T, so he flew it around a little while and I took some pictures of aerobatic maneuvers.

Matt Colan’s ExtremeFlight Edge540T

Mike and Martin preparing the Glider for a tow

Billy Janus flying the Piper Pawnee

Then something pretty cool happened, I was offered a ride in the glider as well! I had never been in a glider either, and I proved this fact when I asked Martin if I needed a headset. He looked at me funny, because you see, the thing is, you don’t need one for intercockpit communication in a glider. It’s quiet, there’s no engine, go figure! Billy cranked up the Pawnee again and we hooked up the ASK-21 with the towrope. The jolt of the glider (or Pawnee) starting it’s roll caught me by surprise, the canopy was closed around me, and I felt a bit trapped. But that passed quickly, because once again, I was in the air. It was impossible to feel trapped in the wide blue openness that was aloft that day. We we’re towed to about 2,000 feet before Martin released the towrope. I didn’t even notice, I was too busy looking all around me.

The View of Pierson from the glider at around 2,000 feet

Sailing was another vastly different experience. I felt more ‘In-tune’ with the sky then I ever have. Glider’s depend on thermals to climb. Thermals are like wide pockets of warm rising air. An instrument in the cockpit called a Variometer shows the rate of rise or sink of the glider. It’s similar to a rate-of-climb instrument in powered aircraft. We spent an hour and a half aloft, used no gasoline, and lost no altitude. We sailed up to 4,500 or so on the backs of the thermals, and went North of Pierson past lake George and to the southern shore of Lake Crescent. I took around 700 pictures that day, and was able to share them with the guys that flew me around. A fair payment I think for services rendered! It’s a delight to see others enjoy your work and a greater delight still to spend a day in the sky.

Matt Colan and Martin Hollatz as we pass by in the Cub

Onwards and Upwards!

The Final Stretch of Spring Semester

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Lynsey

Hello hello!

I left my last entry on a “will Lynsey get a summer internship?” cliffhanger, so I think I’ll address that first… I will officially be spending my summer in Mountain View, California (AKA the most awesome city in the country – look it up) with an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates – the science version of an internship) at The SETI Institute! (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) I’ll be working with one of their scientists to study the formation of planets around different types of stars, and investigate how these planets could form to support life. I’m very excited for this opportunity, and pleased to announce that I will be blogging again this summer, so you’ll get to hear all about it!

The beach near Ft. Lauderdale. Beautiful, turquoise waters.

Spring break came and went, and it was really awesome. Being at Riddle is great, because all of the major spring break destinations are really just a few hours away by car. I cruised down to Ft. Lauderdale at 90 mph down I-95 and spent the week there, where my boyfriend is doing an internship with Spirit Airlines this semester. He spent the days at work, and I spent them swimming, sleeping, relaxing… oh, and gambling. Ft. Lauderdale is on the Seminole Indian Reservation, so there are lots of casinos! One of my guilty pleasures is blackjack; in Minnesota the gambling age is 18, so I used to go down to the casino every couple weeks, and I usually had a pretty good turn out. Over the break I went to a couple different casinos (mostly in search of a good $5 blackjack table, which are not as common here as they are back home), and over four trips I ended up winning twice, losing once, and breaking even the last time. It’s dangerous to my finances that the casino was only 20 minutes from where I was staying – probably a good thing we don’t have any up here in Daytona.

Ville Valo of HIM at their concert in Ft. Lauderdale – we had a great view of the stage, this is an iPhone picture!

While in Ft Lauderdale, one of my favorite bands, HIM, had a concert at a club downtown (a great coincidence!), so we got to see them. They’re the first band I’ve seen three times, and in three different states for each tour, and they put on a really great show – a very long set, and a good mix of some of their really old music and their newest album. This was also my first concert as a 21-year-old, and let me tell you, it ain’t cheap.

On another music-related note, The Pretty Reckless launched their new album a couple weeks ago and it’s great. That is all.

Picture of some reef fishes taken with my underwater camera in Key Largo!

One of the highlights of the break was snorkeling down in Key Largo. They take you out into the ocean about 30 min by boat – to the point that you really can’t see any land – and toss you in the water, equipped with a wet suit, mask, snorkel, and fins. And the water was so nice. There is a shallow reef of the coast of Key Largo, so you swim out to the reef and get to see all sorts of really cool corals, fish, and even some jelly fish and stuff. It was an awesome experience, and I highly recommend it if you ever have the opportunity. The coolest part was having an underwater camera – pictures below! I’m doing everything I can to do “Florida things” while I’m living in Florida. Overall, this was definitely the best spring break in my three years of college. It was a great escape, and just what I needed to get back into the swing of the whole school thing, after feeling pretty burnt out the last few weeks.

There’s less than a month left of Spring semester, and frankly I can’t wait for it to be over. I mentioned a couple times that this semester had earned the title “semester of death,” and I think I have to agree. So I wanted to pass along a lesson that I’ve learned to any and all of you reading this, especially those of you sitting in high school having never gotten anything below a B+: college will test you. You, most likely, won’t get out of an engineering degree with a 4.0; not to discourage you from trying of course, because I certainly have been, and I’m, of course, not giving up. But I’ve had a bit of a mid-life crisis (well, quarter-life, I suppose) about my grades this semester, and I’m finally starting to learn some things:

Always give your best, and realize that you can’t give more than that.
It’s not the end of the world if you can’t get the A.

I’m a huge perfectionist/over-achiever/etc., and I focus so much on grades. I remember when I got my first few B’s in high school, and it felt like the end of the world – I was convinced that I wouldn’t get into the colleges I wanted to. Well, I love my college, and now I don’t even remember what my GPA was in high school. So my words of wisdom are: grades aren’t everything. Put in your best effort, learn as much as your brain can hold, and that is what makes you successful, regardless of the number on your transcript. Don’t have a mental breakdown over a poor exam grade – take that as a lesson, and improve on it in the future. Stress never helps.

Speaking of the future, I’m beginning to figure out mine. Every EP student has to complete a senior design capstone project, which you start planning during the second semester of junior year and then work on throughout your senior year. Well, I was asked to be the Guinea pig for a “senior thesis” option, aimed at students looking to go to grad school, in lieu of a group design project. I’m really excited about it, and I even have a topic, as of last week. I’ll be developing a one-dimensional atmospheric acoustics model in FORTRAN and MATLAB with flexible atmospheric parameters, which means that the model will be able to run for any planet. Then for my master’s thesis, I’ll use this model to do some scientific investigation into the propagation of atmospheric acoustic waves in the atmospheres of Venus, Earth, and Mars – three very different planets. This project will be a good mixture of planetary science, atmospheric physics, and development of a scientific tool.

Doing some homework with Sally the Space Hamster

That’s about it for this entry. Lots of cool stuff on the horizon, and still a lot to do before this semester comes to a close. I have three final projects and a thesis proposal to do, as well as third midterms, final exams, and standard weekly homework assignments before I’m free to go hunt aliens all summer. I’m also looking forward to having a nice long visit home before I start at SETI mid-June. And because I only needed a one-way ticket between here and home (since I’ll fly right from Minneapolis to San Francisco on SETI’s dime), and because the tickets were surprisingly cheap, I get to fly first class! That’s one to cross off the bucket list.

Oh, one more thing. ERAU does some really cool events, especially with all the different student organizations on campus. The week before spring break one of the fraternities hosted a fundraiser where you could pay $5 to sit in a pen full of puppies for 30 minutes. Who doesn’t like being climbed on by adorable puppies?

Puppy selfie! Excuse the extreme Florida-ness of my hair in this picture.

A Riddle Student’s Spring Break!

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Kyle

Spring Break 2014 is a wrap from all of us here at ERAU! I just wanted to have a short “photo” blog on what an “ERAU Student Spring Break” might look like…

Inflight meal service via Biscoff cookies is a must on ANY flight! Enroute to Sebring, Florida for the 12 Hour race night practice to kick off spring break.

Flying with my dad and girlfriend is always a great time! Here we are enroute to Muncie, Indiana from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

: I had a few chances to go flying over break and my dad’s 1950 Piper PA20 Pacer was exercised quite a bit!

Descending into ATL from IND on a Delta A320.

A full Order of Busyness With a Side of Airplanes

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Zachary

Hello there everyone, long time no see! I got a haircut while I was away. It’s good to sit down and write a little bit!

Me on a beach in San Diego, CA. I was there with the Avion exec board and our Advisor, Wes, for a Conference.

Let’s catch up! the last time I posted was about 5 weeks ago 🙂 First things first, I got the opportunity to be interviewed by the Daytona Beach News Journal about my place here at ERAU. They sent a photographer and put together a pretty nice story which can be found here. It’s an honor to represent my school, and just plain cool to be on the front page of the local newspaper too! I was referred for this opportunity by Ken Byrnes, the Chair of the Flight Department. I serve on a board of Flight students called the Chairman’s Advisory Council, and we meet with Ken weekly to discuss the Flight Program. Through that position I also was interviewed by Fortune 500 magazine on my view of the Regional Airline career path. So if those aren’t two good reasons to get involved on campus then I don’t know what is! I want to encourage you prospective students to set down roots here as quickly as you can. Embry-Riddle has so many staff members and professors who are looking for talented and dedicated students to represent our wonderful University. So, come with the intention to get involved and contribute to a better ERAU!

As you may or may not know, Here in Daytona we host the D a y t o n a 5 0 0 NASCAR race. I’m not a big fan of race cars, but it does bring a few billion dollars worth of amazing jets to DAB airport for the week. I, of course, took a few hundred photos of them and have created a Facebook airplane spotting page for them which you can join here to see the photos! Most notable among them was the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. who performed the flyover. I’ll throw some of my favorites here in the blog for you to enjoy. I used a Canon 70D with a 100-400mm lens to shoot all of these. As an executive member of The Avion Newspaper, I get to use our camera equipment, that’s a definite plus! if you have an interest in photography or writing, consider joining the Avion once you get here!

An F-16 Falcon, one of the UF Air Force Thunderbirds!

An F-16 Falcon, one of the US Air Force Thunderbirds!

From February 25-28 I went to San Diego, CA with other staff from The Avion Newspaper for the 2014 Associated Collegiate Press Conference. At this conference we get together with staff from other collegiate newspapers from Journalism Schools all around the country. I got the chance to attend seminars on writing, editing, and photography taught by collegiate professors from some of the most well-known names in journalism. I sharpened my writing skills and realized many things that I’ve been doing wrong. There’s always room to get better, that’s one of my favorite things about a hobby. It was strange being there as a representative from a school as unique as Embry-Riddle, many of the people I talked to weren’t big fans of airplanes at all! They thought we were pretty neat, as most of the other colleges were liberal arts universities. It was a nice change of pace.

This week is Spring Break for ERAU students, so I’ve gotten plenty of time to relax. On this past Monday and Tuesday, I got a really great opportunity. I was hired by the College of Aviation Dean’s Office as a photographer for the 2014 National Training Aircraft Symposium. This landmark symposium was first started by Dr. Tim Brady, Dean of the CoA. It brings together representatives from Aviation Universities, Air Carriers, Aircraft Manufacturers, and the FAA to discuss the Aviation Industry. It was really neat to listen to more than 60 aviation professionals discuss how to make our industry run better in the wake of the ‘1500 hour rule’. I also got a few business cards and talked with some awesome ERAU alumni who are working for major Airlines.

I’m at the point in my college journey where I’m getting pretty busy, but I still find time to answer the occasional Email, I’ll write some blogs more often too, I promise! So if you have any questions about ERAU and how to get involved here, email me at wilkinsz@my.erau.edu

Sitting in a Cirrus SR-20 at this years NTAS Conference

My Life @ Riddle

Daytona Beach Edition

Category Archives: 2013 – 2014

Summer Life – Delta Air Lines Internship

First Week on the Job

Upcoming Summer Games!!

Arriving in San Diego

Hello Summertime!

Life Update…Prepare Yourself!

Just Plane Crazy

Onwards and Upwards!

The Final Stretch of Spring Semester

A Riddle Student’s Spring Break!

A full Order of Busyness With a Side of Airplanes

Hello there everyone, long time no see! I got a haircut while I was away. It’s good to sit down and write a little bit!

Onwards and Upwards!