30 June 2013

No Presentation: June 2013

Due to circumstances beyond the control of this AEO, there was no AE presentation given in the month of June 2013.  A "double" presentation of sorts was given in July, which can be interpreted to include June's presentation.  I apologize for any confusion.

20 May 2013

Presentation: May 2013

This month's AE presenter: David
Date of presentation: 20-May-2013
Subject: An Introduction to Delta Aircraft
Description: This presentation provides an introduction to the concepts and history
of delta-winged aircraft.  Its goals are to:
  • Discuss the aerodynamics of a delta wing;
  • List some advantages and disadvantages;
  • Identify some different types of delta wings;
  • Provide a brief history of delta aircraft.
Download zipped PDF files (15.8MB)

08 April 2013

Presentation: April 2013

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 8-Apr-2013
Subject: Abandoned and Lesser-Known Airfields: San Jose area
Description: This presentation was about a few vanished or abandoned airfields in the San Jose area. The abandoned airfields that dot the landscape of much of this country are often interesting, both for their potential safety value to a pilot in an emergency, and also for their sometimes fascinating histories.

Most information presented in this site was gathered at Paul Freeman's website and I claim no ownership in any of it.  Please visit his fascinating site for lots more information!

Download ZIP file (password protected to protect copyright - sorry!) 

18 March 2013

Mission Scanner School completed!

File this under: not-really-related-to-Aerospace-Education-but-worth-bragging-about-mentioning anyway...

David and I both had the opportunity to attend a Mission Scanner School hosted by the Hayward squadron for Group 2 this weekend.  I've been meaning to do this for several years, but either the opportunity hasn't arrived (such courses are few and far between here in the desolation that is the SF Bay Area) or I haven't been sufficiently motivated to travel to, say, Redding or Fresno to attend one.  This time, both opportunity and motive coincided.  (I also happened to have my flight suit, which I haven't had for over a year since I had given it to someone who shall charitably remain nameless here to ensure that I had all the correct badges, and I just got it back last week.)

At any rate, the school extended over both days of the weekend, and both David and I passed.  So we're both now officially Mission Scanner Trainees.  Now I just need to get a couple of missions under my belt, and fulfill one more requirement, and I should be a fully qualified Mission Scanner.

And about time, if I do say so myself...

04 March 2013

Presentation: March 2013

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 4-Mar-2013
Subject: The Solar Impulse - Across America
Description: The Solar Impulse is a plane built to fly solely with solar power.  This presentation was somewhat abbreviated, due to my being seriously under the weather (and I do mean seriously - 102 deg. fever).  It consisted mainly of three short videos, one giving some background on the Solar Impulse project, and the other two showing time-lapse footage of the disassembly process required to prepare the plane for transport from its native Switzerland to Moffett Field in California, which will hopefully be its departure point for its 2-3 stop flight across America to Washington DC and New York.  Departure is scheduled for 1-May (time unknown).

11 February 2013

Presentation: February 2013

This month's AE presenter: David
Date of presentation: 11-Feb-2013
Subject: A Brief History of Cessna Aircraft
Description: This presentation is an exploration of the rich history of the Cessna Aircraft Company, including a discussion of Clyde Cessna and his company, and a look at some significant aircraft produced by the company over the years.

Download PDF file (5.3 MB)

10 February 2013

Created Google Site for Sq80

Link to new Google Site

I didn't find any way to attach a file directly to a post here on this blog, so I found another way to accomplish pretty much the same thing.  I created a site on Google Sites for us, and we can store small files there and link to them in the blog.

Please do not expect to find any significant or meaningful content on the new site.  This blog will still be the primary site.  The main function of the new site is to act as a repository for any files we might want to make available on the blog.

02 February 2013

2013 Aerospace Ed. Plan of Action submitted

The Plan of Action for Squadron 80's AE department was submitted as a .PDF file attached to an email on 31-Jan-2013 to Mark F.  Copies were also provided to Squadron Commander Coby S. and Squadron Commander-In-Training George G., as well as to myself and David.

Accompanying the 2013 PoA was a review of the 2012 PoA.

Download PDF File

15 January 2013

Presentation: January 2013

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 4-Feb-2013
Subject: The World's Greatest Boeing 787 Dreamliner Quiz (maybe?)
Description: Since the Boeing 787 has been in the news quite a bit recently, I thought it might be interesting to see how much people already know about it.  This presentation is a 14-question quiz (Powerpoint/PDF), and hopefully comes across as lighthearted as well as informational.

(NOTE: As of 14-Jan, this presentation has NOT yet been given to the squadron, since we ran out of time that night.  Since there will be no meeting next Monday night, I plan to give this presentation on the 28th instead.  I will provide updates in the Comment area once I have given the presentation.)

Download PDF file

17 December 2012

2012 Semi-annual Report Submitted

Squadron 80's semi-annual report for the second half of 2012 was submitted to Mark, Coby, and David at 2145L on 17 Dec 2012.

Download PDF file

05 December 2012

Presentation: December 2012

This month's AE presenter: David
Subject: UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles)
Description: This presentation covered UAVs and the various uses to which they are put by both civilian and military personnel.  There was also some discussion about the usefulness of UAVs in search-and-rescue operations.

Presentation: November 2012

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Subject: (no actual title)
Description: This presentation consisted of several Jeopardy-like quizzes on various AE-related subjects.  Among them were an aircraft identification quiz, a quiz about basic knowledge of the Solar System, and a quiz on space-related terminology.

Presentation: October 2012

This post is a placeholder, to be filled in later with information about any AE-related presentation that may have been made to the squadron in October of 2012.

Presentation: September 2012

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Subject: The Jetman - Yves Rossy
Description: Amazing video of man who flies with a jetpack on his back.  Must be seen to be believed.  (Video source: TED)

(Note: I am not 100% sure I gave this presentation in September.  I found an old transcript that I used for this presentation, and the text has a date on it reading 9-1-2012.  This would be logical if I gave the presentation around that date, and a date of 3-Sept or 10-Sept would be about right.)

Presentation: August 2012

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Subject: Operation Red Flag
Description: Operation Red Flag was a massive war simulation performed by the US and various foreign military entities.  This presentation consisted of a 40+ minute IMAX video followed by discussion.