Presentation: April 2022

This month's AE presenter: Mykel Kochenderfer, Associate Professor, Stanford
Date of presentation: 18-Apr-2022
Subject: Airplanes and Artificial Intelligence: A Gentle Introduction
Description: This month's presentation was a real treat.  Speaking to us tonight, Professor Mykel Kochenderfer gave us a "gentle introduction" to some of the concepts being developed by teams like his in the field of artificial intelligence as designed for aviation.  He talked about some of the features involved, such as evaluating possible outcomes of a situation and scoring them based on several factors, then choosing an option based on the scores received.  He talked about something called the Markov Decision Process (MDP), which is a process for evaluating possible outcomes.  He then went on to explain a bit about how these same or similar technologies could be used in other fields, such as automobile autopilots and so on.  The technologies being developed here are planned to supplant the existing TCAS II, which was first approved for operational evaluation way back in early 1987 following several mid-air incidents.

This was a fabulous talk even though it only scratched the surface of what is obviously a huge topic, but Professor Kochenderfer was very generous with his time in answering many questions posed by squadron members and other virtual attendees, both during and after his presentation.  Big thanks go out to Professor Kochenderfer for being so giving of his expertise and patience, and to 2nd Lt. Ashish Goel for arranging the whole thing.

The lecture was recorded, and there is a link available to California Wing members via SharePoint, but I do not currently have permission to post it here - if I should obtain such permission, I will update this post with a link to the presentation video.

Presentation: March 2022

This month's AE presenter: James Aubuchon
Date of presentation: 21-March-2022
Subject: Heat Pipes
Description: In this presentation from his "Space Systems" series, on the subject of heat management, Jim talked a bit about heat pipes - the structures designed to move heat energy generated by or radiated onto a system to another area where it is less likely to interfere with the proper operation of the system.  Most of these seemed to involve the circulation of some sort of cooling fluid (not necessarily water) from Point A where they pick up heat to Point B where they get rid of it.  Unlike a car radiator, however, there is virtually no air cooling in space, and vacuum is an excellent insulator, both of which make the actual heat transfer a bit more complex.

Presentation: February 2022

This month's AE presenter: James Aubuchon
Date of presentation: 7-Feb-2022
Subject: Space Systems: Heat Management (part 2)
Description: This week, Jim gave the second "half" of his Heat Management presentation.  Since he had delivered most of the material in part 1, this became largely a question/answer session.  But Jim did break part of the topic away and will talk solely about heat pipes in March.

Presentation: January 2022

This month's AE presenter: James Aubuchon
Date of presentation: 31-Jan-2022
Subject: Space Systems: Heat Management (part 1)
Description: In this month's presentation, part of the "Space Systems" series, Jim talked about heat management on a space system - how heat has a number of sources, stemming from not only electronics, but also friction from moving parts, as well as radiation from the Sun and other sources.  Since a space system cannot be expected to deal with steadily increasing heat indefinitely, pains must be taken not only to generate as little as possible, but also to route the heat energy away from sensitive areas.

Since Jim was unable to complete this presentation in the allotted time, it was continued the following week.

Presentation: December 2021 (!)

This month's AE presenter: Kailash
Date of presentation: 13-Dec-2021
Subject: The X-57 Maxwell
Description: For this month's presentation, Kailash talked about the X-57 Maxwell, an experimental electric-powered aircraft currently under development at NASA.  This is not just a standard airplane fitted with electric motors; it is essentially a testbed for a variety of new technologies being developed specifically for electric aircraft, including a total of 14 motors (12 specifically for takeoff and the two other, larger motors for cruise flight) mounted on the wing's leading edge rather than suspended underneath it, and fitted with propellers that can be folded during flight to reduce drag.

Here's a link to Kailash's YouTube video presentation regarding the X-57 Maxwell:

https://youtu.be/6q8lSd5o8eE

Due to scheduling issues, we rarely have time for an aerospace presentation in December, so this was a rare experience!

Presentation: November 2021

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 29-Nov-2021
Subject: The Vought F4U Corsair
Description: In this month's ordeal presentation, Jeff talked a bit about one of the most prominent fighter aircraft ever to see service in World War II - the F4U "Corsair".  Noting its "gull-wing" shape and its powerful capabilities, it is possible to lose sight of the fact that due to several initial flaws, including a nasty tendency to stall one wing (but not the other) on short final, this aircraft almost didn't see service at all.  But these flaws were quickly worked out, and the plane went on to have the longest production run of any piston-engined military aircraft, not to mention a very impressive career as both a fighter and a bomber.  The last ones in military service were used (by BOTH sides!) in the so-called "Football War" between Honduras and El Salvador in 1969.

Presentation: October 2021

This month's AE presenters: Isaac Wilson and Tri Nguyen
Date of presentation: 18-Oct-2021
Subject: VR Flight Simulation
Description: 

Isaac and Tri both brought in their personal computers to treat us to an evening of virtual flight.  Both systems had flight simulators with headsets to give us all the illusion of 3D flight.  I actually managed to fly from Reid-Hillview (RHV) to South County (E16) and land somewhat successfully - not bad for someone who hasn't flown in probably almost 15 years!

Presentation: September 2021

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 27 Sept 2021
Subject: Private Spaceflight
Description: For this month's ordeal, Jeff talked briefly about the history of private (non-national) spaceflight, starting as early as 1929 with the Opel RAK rocket plane and continuing to the present with the recent well-covered missions by Virgin Galactic (Richard Branson), Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos), and SpaceX that made some of their earliest crewed flights in July and September of this year.  Virgin Galactic has plans to offer rides to the public (only $450K!) as early as 2022.

Presentation: August 2021

This month's AE presenter: Kailash
Date of presentation: 16-Aug-2021
Subject: NASA's Quiet Supersonic Mission (X-59)
Description: In this month's presentation, Kailash talked about NASA's work on developing a quieter supersonic airplane.  For background, in the past, one of the primary objections to previous supersonic commercial airlines (Concorde, etc.) was the noise they produced both during takeoff and when transiting at supersonic speeds.  The goal of the X-59 project is to develop an airplane that lessens or eliminates these sounds.  

To accomplish this, several technologies are either being developed or are under investigation.  The main idea is to deal with reducing the sonic "boom" normally produced by a transiting supersonic jet, to a much gentler "thump" by modifying the way shockwaves form and merge.  This may reduce the noise from the 105 or so decibel boom produced by, say, the Concorde, down to about 75 db, which has been likened to a car door slamming 20 feet away.

Flight testing is expected to begin in 2022, and community overflight testing in 2024.  If it goes well, data could be released to regulators as early as 2027.

Presentation: July 2021

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 26 July 2021
Subject: Aerospace Potpourri
Description: A different kind of change of pace this time - instead of doing one longer presentation that covered a single subject in some depth and ended with Jeff waking up his audience, this month's presentation was a series of shorter subjects that got no more than a slide or two each, with these subjects being centered around aerospace-related news and happenings in the world.  

The slides presented were entitled:

* US Airports face jet fuel shortage (several causes)

* Jet fuel from food waste? (new technologies)

* Mexico works to recover U.S. air safety rating

* UAE: So Many Int'l Airports = why? (separate Emirates)

* TESS Mission in second phase (extended mission, two slides)

* New material can reduce noise (very light aerogel)

* Plane hits wall because captain's seat failed (kicked levers)

* Israeli carriers launch Morocco routes (part of full diplomatic relations)

* Plane evacuated after teenager sends picture of airgun to other passengers

* Passengers behaving badly... (several examples)

* ... are rarely prosecuted (difficulties with enforcement)

Presentation: June 2021

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 21 June 2021
Subject: CAPardy!
Description: Change of pace for this month: a rousing game of "CAPardy", Jeff's spurious takeoff of the game shop Jeopardy.  A number of general questions were posed to a captive audience (the squadron), who got warm fuzzies for answering them correctly.

This month's questions centered around early aviation.  The categories used were: Lighter than Air, Gliders, Early Powered Flight, and Questionable Designs.

Presentation: May 2021

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 17 May 2021
Subject: Earth is a planet, too!
Description: The wildly controversial and provocative headline for this presentation was "Earth is a planet, too!"  This presentation hoped to bring to light that while our exploration of the rest of the cosmos is magnificent and awe-inspiring, it has all been fairly recent.

Our exploration of our home planet, though, has been going on continually for tens of thousands of years.  It is still the primary testbed for our various machines, even the ones we ultimately use in other places like Mars or the Moon.  The various physical processes that we expect to take place elsewhere - the water cycle, for example - take place here as well, and we can observe them here for very little before ever spending billions of dollars to assemble a probe to go somewhere else.

We live on a very special planet, and it behooves us all to take good care of it.

Incidentally, I believe this is the first time I have ever delivered a presentation out of doors.  It was a unique experience.

Presentation: April 2021

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 26 Apr 2021
Subject: Ingenuity - The Mars Helicopter
Description: Jeff's presentation for this month was on a rather timely subject, namely, the Ingenuity helicopter that was placed on the Martian surface and was now undergoing test flights.  These flights were intended for the purpose of ensuring correct operation in the rarefied Martian atmosphere, which has been likened to flying a similar helicopter at 87,000 feet here on Earth.  This also means ensuring correct operation in the frigid Martian cold, which can be as low as -130° Fahrenheit.

At the time of this presentation, it had completed 3 of 5 of these tests with flying colors (so to speak).  Its rotor, spanning about 4 feet. was able to generate enough lift to raise its 1.5 lb. (on Mars) body over 17 feet above the surface and survey its surroundings.

For more information, visit: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/

Presentation: February 2021

This month's AE presenter: James Aubuchon
Date of presentation: 22 Feb 2021
Subject: The Major Subsystems of a Space System
Description:  The presentation was an overview of the major subsystems that are a necessary part of any space system.  The major subsystems (in this particular classification) are: Structures & Mechanisms, Power, Stabilization, Guidance, & Attitude Control, Orbit Control, Thermal, Communications, Payload (purpose of the spacecraft), Data Handling, Hardware, Software, Propulsion, and Telemetry & Monitoring.

It was not possible to discuss each of these in detail.  Most of the discussion was devoted to structures & mechanisms and the power subsystem.  Several examples of interesting mechanisms were discussed as well as operational tradeoffs in the design of the power subsystem.  It was noted that future presentations would discuss the thermal control subsystem and the communications subsystem in greater detail.

Presentation: November 2020

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 16-Nov-2020
Subject: STEM Kits - Which are best for a Senior Squadron?
Description: Jeff kept it short tonight with a brief discussion of the available STEM Kits that might be fun for senior members to work on and are not strictly for cadets.  The ones Jeff considered the most appropriate were named: "Cross Country Navigation", "Flight Simulator", "Raspberry Pi", "Astronomy", "Rocketry", and "Weather Station".  To this list, Richard opined that the "RC Aircraft" and the "NewBeeDrone" kits might also be appropriate.

Presentation: October 2020

This month's AE presenter: Kailash
Date of presentation: 26-Oct-2020
Subject: Telescope Basics
Description: Kailash gave a discussion about telescopes - how they work, how they differ from one another, and ended with a brief discussion of which type he recommends for novice astronomers.

Presentation: September 2020

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 28 Sept 2020
Subject: Three "Forgotten" Aircraft
Description: Tonight, Jeff talked about three aircraft that are often forgotten when discussions of aviation history arise: the DC-4. the DC-5, and the DC-6.  Jeff himself remembers much talk of the DC-3 and DC-7, but these three in the middle often get overlooked.

The DC-4 had a number of improvements over the DC-3, not least of which was the tricycle gear rather than taildragger, but it still had an unpressurized cabin.

The DC-6 was almost a longer, more powerful version of the DC-4, with a pressurized cabin so passengers could enjoy the flights more.  Both of these were good designs and had moderate success both in the marketplace and in the military.

Not so the DC-5, which was an unrelated design that was obsolescent before the prototype was even built.  Only 12 ever were.

Presentation: August 2020

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 24 Aug 2020
Subject: Wildfires and Air Quality
Description: The presentation for August concerned the air quality, or lack thereof, in California with the wildfires surrounding the Bay Area and all over the state.  Jeff talked about the causes of these wildfires (dry brush, extreme heat, "dry" lightning), as well as the health effects of breathing smoky air, the effects on flying, and how to protect oneself as much as possible.

Presentation: July 2020

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 20 July 2020
Subject: Black Aviation Pioneers
Description: Jeff's presentation for tonight took advantage of the recent discussions about race and racial issues on the news by using the opportunity to shine a light on a number of early black aviators.  The goal was to discuss the contributions they made to aviation in general, and more specifically, to the ways in which their pioneering efforts paved the way for other black aviators to become part of aviation history.

(Abortive) Presentation, April 2020

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 27-Apr-2020 (likely)
Subject: Aerospace Trivia
Description: The intent of this presentation was for Jeff to host a Jeopardy-style trivia game that the squadron would participate in.  Unfortunately, chance had other plans, as Jeff's computer chose that exact time to start throwing fits.  After several attempts to restart the game, trimming other operating software to a bare minimum, etc., it was determined that this game was a lost cause.  Apparently Jeff's poor old laptop simply lacks the horsepower to run twin behemoth programs Microsoft Teams and Mozilla Firefox simultaneously.  An exceedingly awkward time was had by all.

Note that my memory is not the best and I am not certain this fiasco occurred on 18-May; it just seems the most likely date, and I had to pick something.  In any event, it was within a week or two at the most.

Update, 26-Aug-2021: New evidence (email) has come to light suggesting that the actual date of this fiasco was 27-Apr-2020.