Hello everyone, and welcome to the second installment of my student journal. These past two weeks have flown by, but so much has happened. Two weeks ago my buddy, and ERAU alumni, Andrew Lashlee got married, just wanted to give him a quick shout out. Congrats Andrew and good luck!
Embry-Riddle is such a great community and when a student comes here they are sure to meet great people and make lifelong friends. In addition, the student body here is so diverse, you are guaranteed to interact with students from all around the world. A perfect example of this is my current humanities class. For Summer A I am taking both MA222 (business statistics) and HU330 (values and ethics). On a side note I recommend taking classes at ERAU during the summer. Embry-Riddle is a great place to have fun and learn, even during the summer months, and nothing beats getting the required courses done so quickly, but I digress. Although Values and Ethics typically has rich and stimulating conversations, no matter what university you attend, the mere fact that a large portion of my class is made up of international students allows for such great conversations. Hearing the perspective of an international student from Greece, United Arab Emirates (UAE), or Germany, really helps give the American student an idea of what others think. I have really had a lot of fun with the class and I recommend anyone thinking about taking it to do so.
Last summer, while at ERAU, I made it a point to try and go out and find something new every weekend. I am trying to do the same this summer, since I still have not exhausted all of the local attractions. Last weekend, after my internship in Orlando (which I will talk about later), I decided to check out two national parks on the way home from work. The first, Wekiwa Springs, is a moderate sized national park, which is home to a host of great outdoor events. They have everything from swimming to SCUBA diving to camping. I visited the park just to check it out in person and pick up any extra information. Although much of the information is listed on the website, linked above, I always like to see what they have at the ranger station. On a side note, Florida has some wonderful state parks, which are immaculately taken care. These parks are a great service to the residents and visitors of Florida. Although I didn’t have much time to spend in the park that day I am planning my next trip to go there, either this summer or in the fall. In addition to Wekiwa Springs, I also checked out Blue Spring State Park. Blue Spring State Park is known for their Spring (Who would have guessed?), which is home to the manatees during the winter months. I also picked up some information from the ranger station and am planning on spending a day or two there as well. I highly recommend for anyone who is into nature and the outdoors to browse the websites I linked above and see what else there is to offer in this area.
The past few weeks at my internship have been very slow. As with anything in the workforce, Fridays (the day I go to DEA) is usually the “easy” day. I have nothing to really report to you guys other then I have been working hard with the agents in getting paper work done. Unfortunately, life at the DEA is nothing like the show on SPIKE TV. Since February, when I started, there have been a few days with high intensity, adrenaline pumping, police work but the majority of it has been spent doing mundane paper work. Although office work is boring, you learn to enjoy it, since you are still working towards the main goal. As with anything, to quote my Dad, “you gotta work hard to play hard.” This motto really goes hand-in-hand with federal law enforcement, where as you need to really put in a lot of footwork and planning ahead of time to be able to execute a trouble free arrest. I wish I could say I was kicking down doors and slapping on hand cuffs, but the truth of the matter is I am just an intern helping out with office automation, which I am still happy about nonetheless. As I am sitting here I have one quiz to study for and another to take online, along with some other homework I need to complete, so I better get on it. As usual, please feel free to email me or contact me on facebook. I hope everyone is having a great summer and don’t forget to check back in two weeks for my next report.
Sincerely,
Michael Kokes
I’m not quite sure how to start this but hello and welcome to my blog, and I’m glad to share my experiences with you! I’m currently a senior in the Aerospace Engineering degree at Embry-Riddle, with a concentration in Propulsion. That has a lot to do with my current internship actually at MTU Aero Engines.
But before I start talking about that, let me give a bit more of my background and why I am here at Embry-Riddle. Aviation has always been a big interest of mine and it started when I wanted to be an astronaut as a kid. My goals have shifted quite a bit since then, but have generally stayed in the Aerospace industry. In high school I decided to pursue Aerospace Engineering after talking to a counselor and started searching universities. Embry-Riddle was recommended to me by a teacher of mine who had a son attending. The ‘AU’ of ERAU (“Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University”) caught my interest immediately and as I researched further into the school, looked at the course offerings and locations, and visited the campus in Daytona Beach, I was set on attending. And so I have been, and it’s been a great experience so far. The best thing definitely is how much connection to the professional aerospace industry you can get at ERAU. Aside from hosting a series of speakers talking on topics varying from rockets to relativity, the half a dozen or so professional engineering organizations and groups on campus are amazing. I’ve made quite a few great contacts just from being a member in the campus chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). And not to mention also, the ERAU Career Services, which has helped me get both of my internships, including my current internship in Munich, Germany.
And (finally) speaking of my internship, currently I am a “Praktikantin” (German for intern) at MTU Aero Engines in Munich, Germany. This is my second internship, and at 6 months it is also the longest one I’ve done. I actually started this internship March 1st, and I will be here in Germany until August 31st. Getting this internship was really a massive change for me. The position was posted on ERAU’s career site in the middle of November with a deadline at the beginning of December, for the position starting the 1st of January…in Germany. By November, I’d already signed up for my spring classes and was thinking mostly of getting finals over with, already making plans for the winter break and spring thereafter. And yet I applied for an internship that supposedly would have me moving to Germany for 6 months in just one month. However, as it turned out, I did get some extra time because I had to get a residency permit and a working visa before I could start at MTU, and those things takes some time. Thus my start date moved to March 1st.
A bit about MTU: MTU is an independent aircraft engine manufacturer and engine maintenance service provider headquartered in Munich, Germany. They partner with other engine manufacturers like Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney, GE, etc, to create components for engines that power everything from the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Eurofighter to passenger jets, like the Boeing 747 and the Airbus A310. Working here is amazingly exciting for me, I’m really learning so much and Germany is great.
I was hoping this wouldn’t get too long, but it seems I’ve failed at that already…anyways let’s get to what I’ve been up to for 2 months! I work in the TFR Rotor Production department at MTU’s Munich factory. My job is primarily to update and work with CAD drawings for machining operations. MTU uses a CAD software called UniGraphics, so the first thing that I needed to do was to learn that program. I had about a week of tutorials and instruction in the program before I started actually editing any drawings. At ERAU we learn a CAD program called CATIA, so learning UniGraphics wasn’t so bad, because the two programs are pretty similar. The second day of my internship was an introduction for new hire employees, which MTU does at the beginning of every month. They give you a tour of the facilities and the MTU Museum (yeah they have their own museum), which happens to be the only place in the company where pictures are allowed, so the pictures of the museum here will be the only ones of MTU I post. Unfortunately, I didn’t really understand most of the tour (my German is still terrible) but it was interesting going through the factory. MTU is a maze of buildings (Aircraft engines were made here during WWII also, so there’re even underground tunnels).
There are 20 or so production lines (that I’ve seen), each designated to create a specific part, and having all the specific machines needed to create that part. My department is responsible for specific lines, and part of what we do is use UniGraphics to create the programs that tell the machines what operations to perform. I haven’t done this yet, but I have received the training to. It’s not something that changes daily, it’s better not to change the programs too often for the sake of consistency. In my time here in MTU I have made several operation sheet revisions, but none that would require a new machining program (In other words, no revisions where dimensions or materials were changed). I’ve since seen a lot of MTU beyond the production lines and shop floor, including where they do the chemical inspections of parts after they are machined, and the “other” engineering building where they use simulation programs to analyze heat build-up and other factors on engine components in operation.
Currently I am working on helping my boss prepare for an upcoming audit (next week!) by Pratt & Whitney (basically they want to make sure we’re following their standards when we manufacture their engine components) and analyzing tolerance values for certain components of two kinds of engines. (In 2009 MTU opened a plant in Poland, and they’re switching certain operations to the factory there. However there’re some deviations from the set tolerances on some of the test parts they’ve made there, so I need to find if those deviations are acceptable or not. All parts are supposed to be in general exactly the same, which is why each component has specific tolerances-to keep everything uniform.)
But I’ve been up to a LOT more than just WORK in these two months! Munich is an amazing city, and I’ve been all over the place here (There’s a palace here, an Olympic Stadium that has a flea market on Saturdays, several castles you can get to by train, LOTS of gardens and parks, etc). I’ve been to Rome, Italy (had some REAL Italian pizza), Salzburg, Austria (where the “The Sound of Music” was filmed and the birthplace of Mozart), Ulm, Germany (birthplace of Einstein), and the Neuschwanstein castle (the model for the Disney castle). I’m learning German, which is really tricky to do with no proper class or teacher, but easier since I’m here in Germany. Also I’ve gone out around Munich with some of my MTU co-workers a few times and I try to go to as many city-sponsored events as I can. I definitely want to get as much as possible out of my time here in Europe as I can, while I’m here doing this internship. I’m posting a few of my pictures from these trips with this entry, so you can see a bit of what I have these past few months!
Monorail is the best place to be on Disney property. Not only are we awesome, but the fast-paced working environment reminds me of the airline industry. Like Jet Fuel, the hustle and bustle of moving trains and people has gotten into my blood and I can’t control the want to be at work. The trains are so much fun to play with and I can’t believe I’m getting paid to have this much fun! The other part I love about my job is making magical moments for my guests. From handouts to a friendly smile, bringing the joy to them as Disney did for me when I was there for the first time is what makes this job oh so much better than anything else.
I’ve been continuing my work on my “Everyone Comes Home” Program and it is coming together nicely. I launched the program and it got its final name in a conversation with Kelly’s significant other in December of last year. “He never promised me much, he just promised me he’d be home from that trip” got my wheels turning on a name for a program for occupant survivability. It finally hit me listening to Bryan Adam’s “I Will Always Return” and the name stuck. The program is exactly what the name implies. It is a program that we in the safety field need to make sure that everyone (Flight Crew or Passengers) comes home from a trip. The program entails education in the Cabin Safety and Survival field from potential injuries one may incur to the effective efforts of fire fighting from Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting. It is an extensive 300 page program written by yours truly. The poster came out great minus some crooked letters J but I’m going to make a final poster soon. It was a rough draft to get my point across.
Next week I am going to go flying to Nashville to get on the Douglas DC-9-40. There are only 7 in the world and I can’t wait to get on one. It is a rare treat and a nice change from the Airbus A320 or 737-NG. I am also enjoying working in the admissions phone room. Again, because I get to help out people who are calling to ask questions about the university and applying. I think I can sum it up into one sentence that I REALLY like helping people out and making their day just a little bit better!
Last week, I took a trip to south Florida to see my grandma as a late Mother’s Day present. While I was down there with my friend, we went to the Valujet Airlines Flight 592 memorial site in the Everglades. Flight 592 experienced an in-flight fire back in 1996 and impacted the ground while attempting to return to Miami killing all 110 aboard the DC-9. Being involved in Aviation Safety, I knew how important it was to visit the site so that number one, the people are not forgotten and number two, that we remember our past and do not repeat our mistakes. The site was very touching and meeting a family of one of the flight attendants was also a good reminder of why I do what I do every day in the classroom.
My first day on the job was fun. I got to actually take part in interacting with the guests and the trains. I learned my general duties as a monorail pilot and the safety procedures that are in place to maintain a safe yet efficient environment. My training comes in two parts; platform and drive. I will learn to actually drive the trains in about 30 days from my hire date but throughout the course of my platform training I will learn little by little the skills to successfully pilot a train.
When I first started working on the case study in 2006, like many, I was under the impression that everyone had already lost their lives when the airplane came to a rest. Although tragically 38 occupants had already lost their lives upon impact, through extensive research techniques I was able to determine that the impacts were survivable for 2 crewmembers and 10 passengers. So I posed a question to the industry as a combined effort in survivability for Lexington. “Why do we stand here today with one occupant alive when 12 occupants survived the impact?”
Alert III started out being a project simply focusing on proper flight attendant training and how that affects occupant survivability in combination with ARFF. After acquiring a few different textbooks and other resources, I decided to change the scope of the project to focus on everything that affects an occupant’s survivability and the responsibility between the two major players, flight crew and ARFF. While Alert III’s purpose was initially something completely different then what it turned out to be, it still achieved the goal of increasing awareness for not what only educating people in the need for survivability but also what affects survivability.
I have learned to never take for granted a takeoff climb or landing roll-out because I know the living hell and panic that people have gone through in our industry’s worst accidents. It is the events that follow in the wake of an accident that will dictate whether those involved walk away from it or not.
I just recently passed my Private Multi-Engine Instrument checkride. Making me a Private Pilot in both single & multi-engine land airplanes, with instrument privileges in both classes. I’ve completed all of those certificates and ratings along with a complex endorsement and a high performance endorsement.
I moved out of my dorm on Thursday, May 6th. I split a storage garage with four other guys and the rest of my stuff I packed into the car and took home. I left big items, such as my bike, TV, shelves, mirror…(etc). I had more stuff than I had originally thought: something to keep in mind when buying things throughout the year. My room looks quite empty and plain now as the posters are taken down. All that is left is the furniture.
I was able to take my parents flying before I left Daytona Beach. I rented the Cessna 182T from Air America and flew to Flagler County Airport where we ate lunch at Highjackers. I was able to log an hour of flight time, making the $100 hamburger a $180 hamburger. However if you can split the cost, it comes out a reasonable amount.
I’ve received many comments and made many connections while writing to you about my first-year experiences.
Sneak Preview day is coming up this weekend (4/24/10) and I will be there to cover the event for our newspaper, The Avion. If you see me feel, free to stop and chat.
Most recently, this past weekend (4/17-4/18) was the annual Sun ‘N Fun air show in Lakeland, Florida. On display were static aircraft, which were mostly the same airplanes from the AOPA AirportFest, however there were a few I haven’t seen before. In addition, there were exhibits in the hangers which consisted of representatives from King Schools, Garmin, and Beechcraft. My friends and I stayed overnight in town and returned late Sunday night.