What are the current goals of your project?

For the second half of the internship the plan remains to finish the inlet section of RAPTOR and complete the accessory work that was being done in the first five weeks. Work will also begin on the new RAPTOR sections as they get approved. In between doing RAPTOR Wind Tunnel work, assembly of the RAPTOR WATCH system I picked up design work for in the spring will begin. Finally, I am looking forwards to hopping on any new projects I am assigned and hope to see all the projects I did in the spring come to fruition as they begin testing in the summer.

What accomplishments has your project made so far?

Construction work for the RAPTOR Wind Tunnel has been ongoing for multiple years with a variety of interns working on both the tunnel itself and methods for characterizing the flow through the test section. From the start of the summer session a large quantity of my time has been spent continuing RAPTOR construction with another returning RAPTOR intern. With our combined experience of RAPTOR we have been able to design two to three new RAPTOR wind tunnel sections to facilitate the new drive system the tunnel uses, begun work on the tunnel window, completed gasketing for the sections, and begun work on the inlet to allow for smooth flow through the test section. Along with RAPTOR work, many of the projects I started in the spring came to a close as I finished the assembly of a blast shield and completed other smaller projects.

What impact has this internship had so far?

This internship has continued to verify my interest in aerospace engineering. I enjoy my work and the feeling I get from being able to see my projects develop from an idea to a design to a completed product. The passion I have for engineering, design, and problem solving has helped me realize that my primary goals are to get into the field as soon as possible and eventually get a masters as needed. My time at the Rotorcraft Aeromechanics division has been fantastic and a combination of the people I get to work with and the meaningful work I get to contribute to has helped me realize that I am on the right path!