Tag Archives: Avion

Winter Break: Round Two

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Hello, hello again! I can’t believe that it’s been almost two weeks since winter break ended…at least I wish it was winter since I didn’t get any snow back in New Jersey.

On my flight to New Jersey, I had a 30 minute layover in Charlotte, North Carolina which, at the time, didn’t seem so bad. That was until I realized my flight from Daytona departed 30 minutes later than expected, and I had to cross two terminals. Long story short, I did not make my connection to Newark so I had to wait 2 hours to board another flight.

Once I finally made it home, I pretty much spent a majority of my time playing Fallout 4, hanging out with friends and family, traveling to New York City: the usual.

2016 brings with it not only a new semester, but definitely a new year. Everyone always talks about things they’ll do for their “New Year’s Resolutions,” but I really do feel that 2016 will be different.

Well for starters, I’m now The Avion’s advertising manager which means I’m also a member of Embry-Riddle’s Student Government Association. I’m pretty excited to say the least. It’s a big responsibility but people have faith in me, faith that I won’t bankrupt the newspaper, so I might as well give it a shot.

With me being advertising manager, that brings my total of on-campus jobs to 4, which is quite extreme. I don’t know how, but I need some way of paying the bills! Maybe this semester will be a good place to practice time management.

Well that’s it for me. Hopefully I’ll have some fun stuff to report back on once the next post comes out. Until then, stay curious and welcome back to Riddle everyone.

Taking Flight

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Has it really been two weeks already? Honestly so much has happened in this week alone that I cannot comprehend it all. In terms of highlights: I got to meet Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, I was hired by the IT department, so I now have two campus jobs (yay?), and my new quadcopter came in the mail.

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The Avion strikes again! *Angerly waves fist in the air*

Meeting Fred Haise was absolutely amazing; words cannot describe how nice and genuinely awesome he is. I was fortunate enough to meet him as well as sit-in on two of his Q&A sessions. As I sat in the audience and listened to him speak, you could feel his enthusiasm for space and aviation. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and he was very honest and open about what he talked about. If any of you ever get the chance to see him, please do yourself a favor and try to. I would like to thank Dr. Kain of the Honors program here at Embry-Riddle for allowing me to meet Fred Haise and my friend Gus Galarnyk for telling me about his session with the honors students.

In addition to applying for a Resident Adviser (RA) position, I also applied to the IT department here at Embry-Riddle. I was extremely nervous because I was never interviewed for a job before and I knew that  there were people who were way more qualified than me. With that said, I was amazed and excited when I learned I got the job. I start work on Thursday so hopefully I can work out my schedule because I’m terrible with time management. Hopefully I have the same amount of luck for my RA interview (Fingers crossed)!

I don’t know if I learned from the Quadcopter Incident of 2015 because almost immediately afterward, I sprang to get a new quadcopter and returning the old one. In terms of practical use aside from “it looks cool bro,” I really want to get into aerial-imaging (fancy schmancy for  footage taken in the sky/air.) With photography and videography under my belt, I need something to challenge myself and since like 5 guys on my floor are RC plane hobbyists, I had no problems getting into the swing of things. One of my suite-mates recently got a new RC plane while the other, who happens to be an RC plane trainer, built one from scratch. Since we all acquired our new gear on Saturday, we all went flying and it was a fun time. RC flying is definitely a hobby I can get into, and since it’s not that big where I grew up, more bragging rights for me when I come back home.

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Soccer fields are amazing great places to fly dangerous precision-control aircraft.

I can’t believe we’ve been back in school for 1 month already. What’s even more shocking is that I have friends who didn’t even go back yet! Oh well, just 3 more and I’m back in NJ. On that bombshell, I’ll see you all soon.

If hyper-linking works, he’s an outtake from our RC flying antics: Whoops

The 12th Hour

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Has it been 14 weeks already? Honestly it feels like I just moved into Riddle yesterday, and now I’ll have to leave in a matter of days; It’s almost surreal to be honest. But, with finals just around the corner, there’s no time to reflect on my nostalgia. I have only two finals: physics and calculus. Physics I’m pretty confident in thanks to the regulations regarding note-cards: we’re allowed to use them. Calculus is a little more dicey, and I try to forget about it as best as I can. Hopefully, I can overcome my procrastination to relearn all the material that, for some bizarre reason, never seemed to stick in my head. All in all, “the grade you get, is the grade you earned” so I’ll have to let that be my mantra while studying.

On a much brighter note, I am now a general member of the Avion which means I can get clearance for events and stuff. Because the Avion is well known, many of the photographers in the group, can get special clearance to view rocket launches at Cape Canaveral much closer than the general public. I’m looking forward to next year’s launch schedule and I will make it my mission to see a rocket launch; hopefully my schedule will cooperate with me on that.

Ernie the Eagle joins me for dinner at Starbucks.

Also, as of 5 hours ago (Dec. 5, 2014 8PM EST), I was totally unaware that we had a college mascot. I was taking pictures outside and saw a rather large eagle costume approach the Hunt Library. In a brilliant moment of word association, I realized that the eagle was no one other than Ernie the Eagle. Or it could have been the fact that someone yelled “Ernie!” across the courtyard but we won’t mention it.

I recently had the opportunity to observe a flight with my friend and it was absolutely incredible. After many years of flying in Flight Simulator X, seeing a Cessna, or any plane really, up close and personal is such a wonderful and surreal experience. The fact that I could sit in the cockpit and had a feel for what each button, lever, and dial does is truly remarkable. I hope to one day get my pilot’s license and trade up my desk simulator for actual flight hours, but for now, FSX and flight observations will have to suffice.

I’ve learned a lot of things during this semester at Riddle. Aside from the knowledge learned in the classroom, I’ve learned a lot about myself, valuable life lessons, and how to navigate life in Florida. I’ve had a great time these past 14 weeks, and I’m definitely looking forward to next semester. So on that bombshell, not really, I wish everyone luck on their finals and hope to see you all in a few weeks!

“This Isn’t ‘Goodbye,’ It’s Only ‘See You Later.'”

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Hello there!

I’ll assume that if you’re reading this, you’ll have no idea who I am: which is good because I have a few lines to make a good first impression!

In addition to living in NJ, I also work in New York City!

My name is Billy Nguyen and I’m from Eatontown, NJ. For starters, no NJ is nothing like the TV show “Jersey Shore.” Actually, it’s quite far from it and I highly recommend coming down in the summer since the beaches and night life is pretty cool around here, or you can go to California: I won’t judge you. Growing up, I didn’t have that many opportunities to pursue my interest in engineering or really anything aerospace related. What I did to get by was take the engineering courses offered at my high-school and spend countless hours flying in Flight Simulator X. Still to this day, I fly regularly in that game.

Oh so artsy.

On the side I started doing photography, videography, music, acting, graphic design, drawing, and computer work; a mouthful right? While my hobbies weren’t directly related to my major of Aerospace Engineering, I was able to find some outlets for my hobbies to keep myself engaged and active during my first semester here at Embry-Riddle. Thanks to my ingenuity, I’m now a general member of the Avion newspaper and I regularly cover campus events as a photographer. I wish I had time to join the Acafellas and Riddle Players, but maybe someday I’ll tryout. (You have been warned.)

Adjusting to life at Riddle was extremely challenging: definitely a step-up from high-school for sure. As we near the end of the first semester I can really start to grasp how much I’ve learned and changed these past few weeks and it’s really amazing. I think I’ve changed for the better; I’m now more aware of how important time management is (note how I didn’t say I got better at time management,)  and I’m starting to learn how to navigate the world on my own. It’s a life changing experience and my curiosity and passion for learning is what will ultimately carry me through all of this.

As my high-school’s cheerleading manager of 3 years, the quote in the title was

adjust is to get involved. If you have a passion for

tossed around a lot towards the end of each season and it makes me think about all the things that could happen in the 4-5 years when you’re away at college; only time can tell how things will turn out for me. For now, hopefully I come home for Winter Break I can impress my friends with the MATLAB programs I can write.

My advice for anyone still trying to adjust is to get involved. If you have a passion for something, chances are there is a club for you; you don’t even have to join a

Wings & Waves was my first ever airshow and I was amazed.

Wings & Waves was my first ever airshow and I was amazed.

club on campus per-say. There’s plenty of opportunities in the Daytona area. There is literally so much you can do at Embry-Riddle but you have to take that first step. Also, keep in touch with your friends and family. I like to send letters to my friends and I think I’m one of the few people still keeping the post office running.

So on that bombshell, “Allons-y!”
Billy N.™

June 2009

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Hello,
My name is Albane Flamant, I’m an international student from Mons, Belgium and will be starting next fall my senior year. In a little more than a week, I’ll be starting my internship back home in a local newspaper. I’m really excited about it: Even though I’m only a communication student without much experience, I’ll get to write small articles that will be published in a recognized newspaper. I’ve always had a passion for writing but I’ve only tried journalism recently. Last Spring, I spent a lot of my time working for the Avion, the university’s newspaper, as a reporter and an editor. Writing has always been a passion, and I love writing for the Avion. Despite the fact that I’m spending my summer back home in Belgium, I’m currently writing an article about campus for next week’s issue. This internship will hopefully better my writing. Here in Europe, the news writing style is a little different in terms of punctuation and paragraph structure. This will give me the opportunity to experience the European newsroom. It has taken me a while to get through the paperwork because of the language barrier and the cultural difference between the ERAU’s career services and the company hiring me for the summer, but I finally made it. Despite the fact I love writing, I will not probably end up being a journalist after I graduate. However, this will be a great work experience for me and it will enrich my resume and my portfolio. All fields I’m interested in require strong writing skills, and the articles I will write during my internship will be good samples to show potential employers.

So that’s it for this week… I’ll keep you posted on what happens on my first day. I should be running around the city with a notepad, a voice recorder and a camera. It should be interesting. Have a great week!

December 19, 2008

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I’m finally home!!! Finally, after an entire semester, I’m back home in NYC where it’s freezing cold! It feels so good to be able to be with family and friends. It was a really short semester but we had to get a lot done within that time. I accomplished a lot over the past 6 months and got involved with a few clubs on campus and earned 27 credits so far.

Finals went well. I passed my finals and got some really good grades in my classes. However, with flight, I am still not done with course. When I get back I only have a few flights then my checkride! I can’t wait. But I am concerned that not flying for a few weeks will affect my performance when I get back. I am sure it will all work out, but sometimes being away on break is not completely good.

Before we left campus, First Generation had a little Christmas dinner in the Doolittle Annex. It was fun as we all ate together and shared funny stories about what we encountered during the semester. It was the final meeting for the club this semester. The Avion also had a banquet, which unfortunately I could not attend. But from what I heard it was a really fun event.

I’m back in New York. My mom moved from the Queens to Freeport Long Island. I left the wonderful warm weather in Daytona, and now I have to wear layers of clothes and a coat when I go outside. I missed the cold so much while back on campus, but now that I’m in the cold I want to go back to the warmth. Since I have been here it snowed, and it should be a lot of wintry weather for the next few days. It’s not too friendly with the weather in New York, but being with friends and family makes it a lot better. Most of my friends aren’t done with their semester yet, so I have to wait a while till they get back. Last week, a friend of mine from back on campus came to NYC to visit me. He lives in Rhode Island and it was his first time in the city. We had so much fun that day, it snowed and we almost froze to death!

I also went to visit my old high school. It’s a surprise what the school has become. I got to see my friends that are juniors and seniors and my old track team, teachers, principal and peer group leader. It was a nice feeling going back and seeing the people that help me become the person I am today.

I must thank you guys for reading my journals for the past semester. It has been my pleasure. Thanks to all the people that sent me emails, I appreciate them a lot and hope I answered your questions to your satisfaction. Please don’t be a stranger, if you have any questions about Riddle and classes, etc. shoot me an email and I will gladly answer your questions.

Happy Holidays and have a wonderful New Year!