Thanksgiving Break 2023

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Carly

I love doing mostly nothing for a week.

Thanksgiving Break has come and, unfortunately, gone. I spent most of my time doing absolutely nothing which was pretty relaxing. My last class was on Monday, meaning that I got Tuesday off in addition to the rest of the week.

I did have homework due on Tuesday night, but I had already done most of it and then turned it in. After that, I was free to do what I wanted when I wanted. That meant going down to Vero Beach to see my best friend Chris, and riding the train from West Palm Beach to Orlando and back. We didn’t have anything better to, we were that bored, and it was a new experience, so we figured why not? Chris also had Thanksgiving off from his job, since the flight school he works at was closed for the holiday.

The train station was pretty small- nothing like Union Station in DC or Grand Central Station in New York City. I was pretty surprised, but then I found out that there’s only two trains that pass through, which makes a lot more sense. It was very modern and had an overlook of where the trains came in.

As for the train itself, it was still pretty cool. There was much more legroom than an airplane, free internet (although it didn’t work for me) and a huge bathroom. The train went up the coast and then inward towards Orlando, but it was too far inland for me to see many ocean views. I liked how much you could walk around the train. Where the cars connected, they would have a few windows so you could watch what was happening.

The train pulled into the Orlando airport. I’d seen a lot of people with suitcases, but me and Chris had just brought our backpacks. It pulled into the Terminal C, which I think is much more fancy than A and B. The main food court was over by the TSA lines in Terminals A and B, so we had to take the train over… and of course, spotted a couple of planes on the way.

We got lunch and then headed back to the train. I ended up sleeping for most of the way back, which I definitely needed after this semester. After that, Chris and I got Thanksgiving dinner at an iHOP, and my week continued on as normal.

I also ended up going over to a friend’s house and got to meet his two orange cats! They aren’t siblings, but they do get along well. It was his birthday, so of course we celebrated. At the end of the night, I went back home, went to bed, and prepared for a normal Sunday of doing homework.

I had a project due the Monday we got back which I was mostly done with, but I needed to finish it. The project is for AE 434, Spacecraft Controls, and aims to continuously point a satellite at the Earth. The class was working on part 2 of 3, creating block diagrams and adding a disturbance to the system. A disturbance is exactly what it sounds like- anything that disturbs the system from the state that it’s in. It’s a class I definitly find interesting, but it’s also a lot of work! If you come for Preview Day in April, I think you can observe classes. Although I’ll be finished with the class, I’ll still be on campus. I hope to see you there!

The College “Extras” I Find Absolutely Essential

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Carly

You do not need a rug but you 100% need a water bottle!!

If you didn’t know, now you do, but ERAU has a suggested packing list! However, I didn’t end up bringing everything on this list. Honestly, most of the things I brought were the bare essentials- sheets, towels, and storage containers for other things I wanted like shoes or extra blankets. I didn’t bring any sort of decoration whatsoever because I was a little too lazy to put it up and take it down every year. And I didn’t mind. However, some of the things on the list I absolutely used every day– they were definitely on my “must bring to college” list. Here are my thoughts:

1. A Very Long Phone Charger
This was probably my most-used item. I lived in New Residence Hall 2 during my freshman year and kept my bed fully lofted. Thus, it was important for me to have a very, very, very long phone charger to reach up to my bed. I also added a Command hook on the side of my bed so that I wouldn’t have to climb out of my bed if I lost it. Instead, I threaded it through the Command hook when I wasn’t using it so that it would always be reachable from my bed. I also had my desk under my bed, and the charger was long enough to loop through the Command hook on the side of my bed and then back to my desk if I needed it there, too.

2. A Water Bottle
ERAU is in Florida and it is HOT, which means it’s also important to stay hydrated. Definitely bring some sort of water bottle! There are plenty of water bottle filling stations on campus, so the amount it holds doesn’t really matter as much. I would also suggest a vacuum insulated water bottle to keep your drink cold, especially in the warmer months.

3. Sweatshirt, Pants, and/or Long Sleeve Shirts
Florida gets hot, but it also gets cool. It never snows here or anything, but it can be a humid cold, which makes it feel colder. I’m from Kentucky, so I’ve been through snow, but never a whole lot of it. Even so, I still need a sweatshirt and pants during some times of the year. If you’re from a colder climate, it may be still be a good idea to bring some colder-weather clothes, but maybe not a heavy winter coat.

4. An Extra Phone/Laptop Charger for Your Backpack
This one may be a preference if your phone and laptop have an amazing battery life, but my phone dies during the day, so I always carry a charger with me. ERAU has plenty of spaces to charge your phone or laptop- the library, the student union, even in some classrooms.

5. An Umbrella or Raincoat for Your Backpack
Ah, the joys of living in Florida- popup rain showers. Every so often I will go to class, and within the hour, it’s pouring outside. Sometimes I have the luxury to wait out the rain, and other times I don’t. Therefore, I highly suggest having an umbrella or raincoat (or both!) for your backpack when it does rain.

6. A Decent Camera for Surprise Visitors
As this is ERAU, sometimes we get a few surprise visitors on campus. Of course we have regularly scheduled Delta Air Lines and American Airlines flights, but we’ve had C-17s, the Thunderbirds, an Atlas Air 747, an F-15, and plenty of other aircraft that I may not have even seen! So it’s great to have a decent camera- even if it’s just on your phone- to take pictures of anything that drops in for a day or so. I’m excited to see what sort of aircraft will come in this semester. I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully at Riddle!

Washington D.C. & New York!

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Carly

I don’t know how it gets better than this!

A couple weeks ago I went to Pittsburgh for a Regional Admissions Presentation (RAP). Last weekend I got back on the road again and ended up in Washington D.C. and New York City!

For this trip, I flew out of the Orlando airport on a morning flight. That required me to get up a bit early, but I didn’t mind. D.C. and New York City were destinations that I really wanted to visit. I got into D.C. in the late morning, so that meant I had the day to explore. Of course, my first spot was the Udvar-Hazy Center, which is home to a Concorde, a SR-71, and Space Shuttle Discovery.

The Udvar-Hazy Center was amazing. It also had a tall air traffic control-like structure that looked over the runways at Dulles Airport. That spot also had a live stream of the air traffic control communications, so I could hear the pilots and tower talking as planes started to land. A lot of traffic came in during the short time I was there, including a couple of international flights. That was super cool to watch!

After I was done at the museum, I ended up going over to a friend’s house and got to meet his cats. He has two black cats and one orange cat, and all three of them were very sweet. I missed my cat at home, even though I had only left him that day, so it was nice to be able to see some other kitties.

After playing with the cats a bit, I headed over to my hotel. My friend dropped me off at the metro, which I was excited to take. I had all of my things with me, and I took the metro into the city to the hotel. I ended up walking a couple blocks to the hotel and checking in. I didn’t get much time to relax- having known I would be going to D.C., I planned out a few things that I’d want to do.

I walked back to the metro and met a friend at another metro stop, where we got dinner and then went to a movie theater. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie was out this weekend, and we’d managed to get tickets! We spent the evening watching the three hour movie before I went back to my hotel.

Saturday was the first RAP in downtown D.C., and it was super fun! Since D.C. is a huge city, we had a great turnout. At the RAP, full-time personnel from admissions talk about the university and then at certain points, students (like myself!) are given the chance to speak. At these RAPs, I talked about my previous internships, experiences with professors, and student organizations at the Daytona Beach campus. The D.C. and NYC events were joint events, meaning that representatives from the Prescott campus were there too.

After the presentation, people are allowed to ask questions until the time scheduled is up. Once the scheduled time is up, the families are allowed to leave while we stay behind and answer individual questions. That’s where I get the more personalized questions about my experiences in the degree program, how I manage my time, and other student life-specific questions. I love it- it’s so much fun to meet new people!

Once everyone has left, then it’s time to pack up. I usually change into something that isn’t a business casual outfit, and since we had another RAP in NYC the next day, we went to the train station. Union Station in D.C. is huge- it also reminded me a lot of Grand Central Station in NYC. We took the Amtrak train to NYC’s Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station. It was a three hour ride, and the train was much more spacious than a plane.

Following the train, we headed to our hotel and checked in. After that, I was able to do what I wanted! I met up with the other student and one of the full-time admissions people from Prescott, and we ended up exploring New York City together at night. It was very exciting. I got to try NYC pizza (it was amazing) and we stopped by Grand Central Station.

We got back pretty late, and I fell asleep super fast. The morning came, and I ended up venturing back out into downtown NYC to get another slice of pizza. Our hotel was right next to Times Square and as I found, shops that sell pizza by the slice are everywhere! So I had pizza for breakfast before I met the admissions personnel in the lobby and we walked to the RAP venue.

The NYC RAP went the same way the D.C. one did. All RAPs present the same information. It was hosted in a venue right next to Times Square and the Hamilton theater, which I thought was super cool. After the RAP, the entire admissions group walked across the street to an Italian restaurant for dinner before we parted ways. I, along with the other members of the Daytona team, were flying out of the LaGuardia airport that night.

My flight got back into Orlando at 12:18 AM, and once I got to my car, it was about a one-hour drive back to Daytona. I didn’t even bother to unpack that night (well, morning) and instead fell asleep ASAP since I had class the next day. The trip was definitely worth it, though. I had so much fun walking around in D.C. and NYC. Even though I’m from a small town, I’m definitely a big city person at heart. I really enjoyed my time here, and I can’t wait to see what’s next. Maybe I’ll see you at an event next semester, during Open House, on Preview Day… if not, I’ll see you in the next post!

The Weirdest First Week Ever

Posted on September 5, 2023 by Carly

Here we are! First day of senior year!

After (almost) three years of blogging and three internships… I AM A SENIOR!

It’s honestly a very weird thing to think about- I am a senior which means I graduate in May. After graduation, I won’t be a college student anymore- I’ll have to find a job, which is terrifying to think about. I’ve loved being in college- it’s the perfect bubble of freedom without too much responsibility.

Before the school year even started, the Women’s Ambassadors held their first mentoring event! The Women’s Ambassadors Mentoring Program- or WAMP- held a meet and greet luncheon for the new female students. There, students got a chance to meet us- their mentors! I had a lot of fun at event- over 400 female students showed, and it was great meeting some of my mentees this year!

The first week has definitely been interesting. Monday went pretty normally, and so did Tuesday until the university announced that Wednesday classes were cancelled due to Hurricane Idalia. That afternoon, I headed out to buy a case of water bottles in case we couldn’t get water.

Idalia mostly hit Florida’s panhandle and moved its way through Georgia, so we only experienced tropical storm-force winds and rain. There is a pond in my off-campus apartment complex, and I noticed that the water level had risen a little bit. The storm wasn’t very noisy, so on the off day, I slept in pretty late. I mostly stayed inside and hung out with a few friends. I never ended up needing the water bottles.

Classes resumed on Thursday, and the Daytona Beach area felt minimal damage from the hurricane because the eye of the storm didn’t come very close to us. I have one laboratory class that wasn’t starting, so Thursday was short for me.

On Thursday night, I had my first meeting of the school year! It was also for Women’s Ambassadors, and we had pizza for dinner while we talked about the upcoming plans for the academic year. We have a lot of new ambassadors this year, and it was great seeing them step up and volunteer for leadership positions.

Friday came and went, and I had my second meeting of the year- this time for the Society of Women Engineers. I’m the Professional Engagement Chair this year, which means it’s my job to help SWE members with their professional development as well as interface with companies. SWE, like always, also has a lot of cool things planned!

After that, of course, was Labor Day weekend. I didn’t do much. I spent the time relaxing, sleeping in, and not thinking about school, work, or anything related. I did, however, end up buying LED lights for my room, which I’ve wanted for awhile but just never got around to buying.

Over the summer I interned with Boeing in Oklahoma City and while it was fun, this Labor Day weekend was a definitely needed break. Over the summer I got to do some really cool things there and even got to attend the yearly Tinker Air Show, hosted by Tinker Air Force Base. Oklahoma City reminded me a bit of Embry-Riddle; planes would come and go, and since I lived along the approach path, I heard them all the time. Sometimes I’d even see some military ones go by, which was awesome to track.

I’m looking forward to my senior year here at Embry-Riddle. When I graduate, I’m definitely going to miss the school. It’s been my home for the past three years. The people are great, I love the aviation-centric environment, and (personally) I love sunny Florida weather. The humidity might be a drag, but I hate snow, and it never snows here. It’s an ideal environment for me, and one day, I hope to see you here too- but if not, I’ll see you in the next post!

A Look into the Baja SAE Competition

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Elisa

The Baja SAE competition was held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin this year. If you are unfamiliar with Baja SAE, allow me to give a brief synopsis on the organization. Baja SAE is a collegiate design series competition that is held by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) every year. The organization aims to expose students to different aspects of the engineering process along with learning how to work within a team environment. There are multiple events a year (three to be exact) and student teams from around the US and other countries are given the ability to compete in this event. Students are tasked with designing, manufacturing, and assembling a one-seater, off-road vehicle that can withstand the grueling courses set up by the judges of the competition (most of which are Baja SAE alumni). Each team has to complete and submit a business presentation, design presentation, and an extensive cost report. Students attending competition are also given the opportunity to network with sponsoring companies and have a chance to apply for internships or full-time positions.

Oshkosh Corporation military vehicles on display at competition

This year was the first time since 2019 that the team has gone to competition. At the beginning of the fall 2022 semester, it was announced that teams would have to design vehicles with an all-wheel drive or four-wheel drive system. In previous years, Baja SAE had only required two driven wheels. Given the limited knowledge of an all-wheel drive system, the team decided it would be best to attend competition and gain an insight into the process other teams had taken to determine their designs.

Team leads and officers from the ERAU Baja SAE team

Competition is set to take place throughout four days, each day consisting of different dynamic events with the final day holding the four-hour endurance race. The first day opens with registration and the business presentation. Teams are given a prompt where they have to pitch their vehicle design to a team of judges and explain why their design makes the most sense from an economic and manufacturing standpoint. Teams also have to go through engine and frame checks on the first day. Baja SAE rules dictate that the engine is the only component of the vehicle that is not allowed to be modified, therefore teams must complete an engine check at the start of competition to ensure they are compliant with rules. The first day also included a car show sponsored by Oshkosh Corporation, where they showed off the military vehicles that the company has designed and manufactured.

Remote controlled military vehicle brought by Pratt & Miller

Oshkosh vehicles on display for the car show

Day two introduces the first dynamic event of the competition (dynamic braking) along with the design judging, cost evaluation, tech inspection, and 4WD check. Teams are evaluated on their design choices during the design judging portion of the event. Tech inspection focuses on evaluating the vehicle overall and ensuring that it meets rules. Day three introduces the rest of the dynamic events. These include the maneuverability, acceleration, sled pull, and suspension events. The last day focuses solely on the endurance event. This is where all 100 teams line up their vehicles in grid form and drive around the track for four hours. The track itself is composed of different aspects of the dynamic events that took place the previous days. The team that completes the most laps around the track is the winner of the event. There is a fun statistic that I love to share with new teams members, which is that during the first few laps of the endurance race, about half of the teams on track would have experienced some form of damage to their vehicle. The track this year was extremely muddy due to weather, so most vehicles at some point found themselves stuck in the mud.

Different competing teams out on the muddy course

Overall, it was a great learning experience for our team to be a part of. Not only did we gain a valuable insight into the innerworkings of competition, but we were able to bond with our peers and developed a desire to succeed at competition in the following years to come.

Riddle Rewind, Year 3: Here We Go Again

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Carly

One for the money, two for the show, three to make ready…

So at the end of every year I’ve started doing the Riddle Rewind and recapping my favorite memories from that year. Although a little later than last year, here’s my recap of junior year and my favorite memories from it.

Orientation Team, Year 2!

Last year I was part of the Orientation Team! I, unfortunately, can’t return for a third year due to the timing of my internship, but it was a fun second year.

Meeting my roommate’s kitten!

While not technically related to ERAU, I had random roommates last year and one of them got a cat. The cat, Chandelle, was the most adorable little thing I’ve ever seen! I have three cats back in Kentucky, so it was nice to live with a cat. I moved out of that apartment, but the cat was a huge perk.

Securing my Boeing internship!

In October, after the hurricane, Boeing came for Boeing Week and I secured one of their EAHI internships! Although at the time I hadn’t been matched, I later found out I’d be a Flight Test Engineering in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma- exactly where I’m typing this out. My first week is complete and I’m excited to see what’s to come!

Rides in the DA-42!

My friend Chris finished his multi-engine rating in the Fall 2022 semester, but he let me come along for a few rides while he flew. If you’re interested, there’s a whole post about it here, and if you’re interested in the flight program as a whole I interviewed him about his experiences, too.

Regional Admissions Presentations

Okay so I don’t have a picture, but I do have a post about my trip to Dallas and Houston as a Women’s Ambassador. We were super busy so there wasn’t a whole lot of photo-taking, but I got to cross off two more Buc-ees on the way.

The Hamster Ball Experience

I’m honestly not sure why there were hamster balls at Riddle, but they were super fun to roll around in. I made it down the inflatable and back, and I can truly say that being inside of those things was an experience like no other.

Going flying… multiple times!

I love going flying, whether that be commercially or in small general aviation planes. Chris likes to take me along, and I’m never one to complain. We went a few times last year- of course during his multi-engine training, but also over winter break and in the spring.

The Annual Thunderbirds Airshow

This is one thing I really love about Embry-Riddle. Each year, the Thunderbirds come for the Daytona 500 flyover and that means the students get a free mini-airshow. And of course, I watched.

The F-15 Visit

Now this does not happen every year. An F-15 visited Embry-Riddle in early March, to the surprise of us all. Students were allowed to go walk around it, including myself.

The 747: A Truly Magical Experience

And my favorite visitor of the year: The 747. Atlas Air brought a 747 just in time for the career fair and let students sign up for times to get up and close with it. I was in the second group of the day to see it, and it was definitely something I’d recommend if they bring it back.

The Honors Trip

The Honors Program hosted its annual Kennedy Space Center trip and of course, I went. I’m never going to pass up an opportunity to visit KSC, and the one through the Honors Program was discounted.

And last but certainly not least… Chris graduated!

Chris graduated with his degree in aeronautical science this year and is now working towards his flight instructor ratings! In the meantime, I’m in Oklahoma City working for Boeing at my internship. I’m excited to see where it’ll take me!

Introduction

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Elisa

Hello! My name is Elisa Castillo and I am a recent graduate of the Mechanical Engineering program here at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. My degree focused on High Performance Vehicles, and I also minored in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. I finished my first year as a graduate student in the accelerated masters program this spring, and am looking forward to my final year as a student this upcoming academic year.

Throughout my five years at ERAU, I have had the pleasure of holding multiple leadership positions. I have worked with the Women’s Baja SAE Team for four years now! I started as the Chief Technical Officer and held that position for three years. This past year, I became the Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) for the Baja senior design class, where one of my primary roles was to advise and guide the students throughout the semester on various engineering principles. I also served as the Chassis Lead, where I redesigned the chassis of the vehicle our team builds every year for competition to fit the new all-wheel drive (AWD) design that was developed. I have also worked as a Physical Sciences Tutor at the Academic Advancement Center (AAC) for three years, a Thermodynamics Teaching Assistant, and recently, as the GTA for the Engineering Fundamentals Lab, where EGR101 and EGR120 students come to seek help on projects that they are currently working on in those classes.

During my time at ERAU, I have been fortunate enough to have held multiple internship opportunities with inudstry leading companies, something which I will discuss more in detail in later posts. The highlights of those internships include working as a Manufacturing Engineering Intern at the Ford Motor Company, where I helped design the assembly line for the Ford Raptor R engine. Last year, I worked with General Motors as a Lap Time Simulation Intern with the Global Product Development team, and this year I have decided to return to General Motors as a Hardware Engineering Intern.

The Women’s Baja SAE Team accepting their first DEI Award this past Spring Semester (I am all the way to the right)

Test driving a Ferrari 458 in Michigan (Summer 2022)

The last day of my internship at the Milford Proving Grounds (Summer 2022)

I was born and raised in Cuba until I was six years old. My parents and I migrated to the United States in 2006, and have resided in West Palm Beach, FL ever since. For as long as I could remember, I have had a passion not just for automobiles, but understanding the complex systems that make them work. My dad would take me to his job at a mechanic shop where I got my first exposure to working on vehicles, and I have loved it ever since. Having this passion greatly influenced my decision to choose engineering as a career path, though there was never any doubt that this is what I wanted to do with my life. It wasn’t until high school that I knew I wanted to more specifically focus on the motorsports specialization of automotive engineering. I have always been a fan of the fast-paced and intense world of racing, and the pioneering technology those vehicles use have had the potential to create world records and revolutionize all aspects of the automotive world. Those accomplishments inspire me to always put forth my best possible effort, in the hopes of one day being a part of the team that shatters the next record.

The “in-between” Time

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Isabella

When you have an internship in the Summer, it usually starts soon after your Spring semester classes end. However, the time in between these things is often forgotten even though, at least in my opinion from my own experiences, it is very important.

This year I took about 2.5 weeks “off” between these things. Many things happened during this time including packing up my dorm, moving out of my dorm, putting boxes at home, unpacking some, repacking suitcases for the Summer, remotely finishing up some research work, and then visiting some family for 10 days in Hawaii and California.

During previous Summers, my “in-between” time consisted of around 24-48 hours to pack, unpack, and move around before work. Not only was this a bit stressful, but I also found it incredibly useful to take a break between school and internship work. As a ‘rocket nerd,’ I love my school work and internship work but quickly figured out that lack of breaks (even tiny ones) can lead up to a larger feeling of burnout at a later point. Having the time to move out, pack/unpack things, and spend time with friends/family can give a certain part of your brain a relaxing time to focus on different types of things which will actually help you better function at work and look forward to the next semester even more. It is also nice to have at least a day or two when you move into your internship home to get settled in, organize, buy groceries, and more so that after work you can work on other things, call family/friends, participate in hobbies, socialize, or even just relax after a productive day.

Overall, this “in-between” time, although often overlooked, is essential to success in your life and career. It should be cherished and planned out well. This Summer is the first one in which I truly did this, and I can already see how much it has helped. I’ll leave you all with some pretty pictures from my family travels during my own “in-between” time and next time start to go into more about my internship! Happy Summer and safe travels!!

One picture taken while driving around Oahu.

Another picture taken while driving around Oahu.

I found a stick fishing pole among the fancy ones!

End of Junior Year!

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Isabella

The Spring 2023 semester and my junior year has officially ended! A lot happened this semester, so I thought that I would summarize it here.

I took a few different classes this semester:
CEC 315: Signals & Systems
EP 391/391L: Microcomputers & Electronic Instrumentation Class/Lab
EP 394: Space Systems Engineering
ME 200: Machine Shop Laboratory
SYS 560: Introduction to Systems Engineering Management

Compared to previous semesters, this one was pretty light class-wise.
CEC 315 was a great class with very useful topics and a great professor. The class had no deliverables other than two midterms. The second exam/midterm was not technically a final exam, so it did not happen during ‘finals week’ which really helps to spread the load out for many people. The professor is also very reasonable with exam questions, grades, and lecture material in general, so the midterms were not too stressful.
EP 391/391L was definitely more of a challenging class, but the final project was a great way for students to combine things learned during the semester. There were some exams towards the beginning of the semester, but no final exam. The final project was only given during the last approximately two weeks, so there was definitely a ‘crunch time’ there. However, the product was great. My team designed a device that would basically use serial communication, a stepper motor, and LabVIEW amongst other tools to follow a light source and output live graphs with information such as temperature, battery voltage, and device angle.
EP 394 is mostly a project class. We still had weekly lectures on topics ranging from control systems and class mechanics to spaceflight dynamics and orbits with mini quizzes, but our main grade stemmed from our project. We had free reign to choose our space-related project topic and our group, and then any resources we needed were provided by the Physics department and lab. This class also took into account that many of our projects were large endeavors and could only get a certain amount done within a semester. Overall, lots of work, but it was super rewarding, fun, and the grading scale was very reasonable. My team was designing a floatable platform that would use a camera for vision processing and microthrusters to control and test and vehicle with a control system that could be used for satellite attitude control in space. We received a very good grade for our progress including simulations, CAD models, vision processing code, communication systems, and pneumatic systems among a few things.
ME 200 was very fun. Grades were purely attendance-based, and this was something I never wanted to miss. It was once a week for about 2-3 hours and consisted of learning then doing all sorts of things like riveting, drilling, band saw usage, and more.
SYS 560 was a good class. I was taking this one to count towards my masters degree. No big exams were given, just about one homework per week, some in-class activities, and a final project. The final project was not too large, and it combined what we learned fairly well. We basically had to draw out a schedule plan for eight different programs with overlapping resources to be finished as efficiently and quickly as possible.

Overall, it was a good semester! I am writing this from a location (TBA in the next post) where I am visiting family before my internship begins. A few days ago, I also finished up my research job remotely and plan to find out what my next research project (for next semester) will be over the Summer.
For now, I’ll end this here and save my next blog post to tell more about what I have been doing since the semester has ended and things to expect this Summer!

The $400 Meal and Finals Week

Posted on May 12, 2023 by Carly

A good financial decision, really.

Well, finals week has come upon us at ERAU, and like other students, I’ve been studying my free time away. As an engineering major, a decent chunk of my grade relies on my final exam performance. Luckily enough for me, I’ve worked hard all year so I’m striving for a good grade rather than a “can I pass the class?” grade.

But before we get into that, how about the quick story of the $400 meal I ate? Hundreds-of-dollars meals are relatively common at ERAU, surprisingly. I haven’t noticed this anywhere else, but it’s really not due to the price of food here.

It’s due to the airplane rental cost.

So, a few little airports have restaurants right on the airport, catering to pilots as a “fly-in” restaurant. So instead, on the Sunday before the last week of classes, Chris and I ended up at the Pyper Kub restaurant in Williston, FL. It has pretty good food and a pretty good price, but the “$400” bit comes from the aircraft rental and the time flying out there and back.

We didn’t end up renting an ERAU plane but instead rented it from Air America, one of the flight schools in the area. Around this time last year, Chris was practicing for his commercial pilot checkride, but since then he’s earned his commercial pilot certificate and multi-engine add-on. Now he’s preparing for his CFI (certified flight instructor) checkride which means more practice and more flights for me!

*ERAU from the air. Looks small, doesn’t it?*

Williston, Florida is west of Ocala and it was an hour or so flight (compared to two hours of driving). We left around 10 AM in the morning, ate lunch, and then did a few touch-n-goes in the pattern at Williston. After Chris was done, he headed over to the Crescent practice area which is a common practice area for Riddle students. The maneuvers (in my non-expert opinion) were similar to those he did on the commercial checkride, but he did it from the right seat. (Traditionally, students sit in the left seat of an aircraft where the instructor sits in the right- until you do your CFI stuff when you become the instructor in the right seat.)

Since I’m not a pilot I don’t really know a whole lot about getting your CFI license, but I do know a lot of students go into that pathway before heading to the regional airlines. The other option that I see students do is flying small cargo gigs, but the vast majority of students become instructors at Riddle and surrounding flight schools.

We came back and then it was a start of a long, studious week for me. April 24 marked the last week of classes, with Friday being a study day before finals began on Saturday, paused for Sunday, and resumed Monday through Wednesday. I have four finals this year: Aerospace Structures I, Space Propulsion, Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics, and Aerospace Engineering Materials. I have two other classes, but one is a lab and the other is the lecture that goes along with the lab, so I don’t have any finals from those.

I’m also a TA for an EGR 101 class, so I also ended up helping students in the engineering makerspace lab while they completed their final projects. I saw a lot of super cool projects, from a Rube Goldberg machine to a balsa wood glider, and then watched the teams present on Thursday.

Classes being over, especially in the summer, is kind of bittersweet for me. It means the summer is starting (and so will my internship soon!) but also that my best friends won’t be just a short drive (or even walk!) away. I’m moving out of my current apartment and into another apartment with a couple of friends, so I know next year will be fun. It’s hard to believe that I’m going to be a senior next year. I’m both ready to graduate and not ready to graduate- I’m excited for my first permanent engineering job, but definitely not ready for all of the adult responsibility that comes with it. I like living in the college bubble- I’ve got a lot of freedom but not too many responsibilities. And with that, I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully at Riddle!

My Life @ Riddle

Daytona Beach Edition

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