Project Description
For my senior engineering course, I decided to partake in the building of an RV-12 airplane with over 10 mentors of unspeakable experience and 11 other students. Throughout the year, we started and almost finished the right and left wings. We would check the master plans to make sure we knew what we were doing, and then actually plan and figure out what specific part of the plane we are focusing on and what tools we need to make it work and fit completely. Then, we would build with the help of the mentors and utilize teamwork to get the job done. Every specific person had an important job to do. In addition to building, the mentors divided the 12 of us students into groups of 3. Those smaller groups had specified purposes. My group consisted of Jeffrey Suter, Matt Baetkey, and I, and we were tasked with seeking out and organizing guest speaker presentations eery Friday.
Plane Website
Pictures
Reflection
Each member in our group had unique attributes. Jeffrey knew where almost every single part and tool was in both the rooms the plane was in. Once he was asked to get something, you had it in your hand in the next 30 seconds. Matt took leadership and helped organize and divide workload. In addition, he could understand the unnecessarily difficult plans very easily and promptly. I was determined to finish any project I was assigned as correctly and clearly as possible. I kept others in check and made sure everyone had a job and was being productive. I was great at doing the tasks that took a lot of repetition and time like riveting the wing. Our group dynamic worked extremely well together. We all were friends prior to taking senior engineering, so being in a group together was the right fit. Our group focused on getting a guest speaker to give a presentation every Friday, and we coordinated and planned that pretty well, given the limited information and open-ended nature of our task. We got speakers from many different fields to give their life experience to high schoolers that were impressionable and excited to learn about the real world. In addition, our group along with Sebastian and Austin worked on and finished the right wing up. It took a lot of outside help, time, and effort, but we tried our best to keep it simple and understandable for everyone so that each person could have a job they could do with ease.
For the project to go as smoothly as possible, everyone had to have good communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creative skills. Communication was very important in many ways. First off, since there were two different classes we needed to know everything second period had done and they needed to know everything we did. Good communication between the two classes helped us not overlap sections of the plans and also not miss any pages. Communication between our smaller groups inside the class were also a necessity so that we were all on a set schedule and always knew what the other was doing. Lastly communication with mentors and Friday speakers made for smooth presentations where they speaker knew what to say, where to be, and at what time. Critical thinking was also important, especially when reading the plans and physically moving the plane. The plans aren’t like lego sets used to be when we were kids. They are very complicated and usually one step has multiple actions that we must take. One missed step could unravel everything we have worked on. We have also had to move parts of the plane to different places, once to the auto shop and once to the gym. The plane is very fragile and also very expensive. We needed to figure out the fastest and safest way to move these pieces so that they are not damaged. Collaboration helped us be as efficient and safe as possible. With everyone helping out that means that there are more eyes and brains that could either double check that the building is correct or also to find errors. We are all accountable if there is a mistake, but the chances we make one go way down if everyone is paying attention. We did not have any instances where we could be creative. The plane has a set plan or way as to how we build it. We have to follow every step, which limits the creativity of our group. But we were able to use it elsewhere. We had some freedom when it came to the auto shop. When we moved in we were told to do anything we wanted as long as it was in the designated area given to us. It was nice to have a bigger space and we were able to be more organized.
As for expanding the program and gaining funds, the fundraiser event that Olivia put together should become an annual event. We were able to raise $6,200 in one evening and this money gives us the opportunity to use the funds on the unpurchased kits and any other roadblock future years may face. As well, promoting our individual websites, as well as the Project Pegasus website, more people can gain knowledge of the incredible opportunity we all have to build the plane, which hopefully in turn brings more attention to the program and funding as well. We ended the year signing off the completed steps in the main instruction document, so next years class will be able to clearly see where we left off, and our instructional video adds a fun and educational introduction to the auto shop space, and the necessary information to begin where we left off. Along with the video, our mentors guidance will surely top off every other missing hole, completely preparing the next group of seniors for this opportunity.
For the project to go as smoothly as possible, everyone had to have good communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creative skills. Communication was very important in many ways. First off, since there were two different classes we needed to know everything second period had done and they needed to know everything we did. Good communication between the two classes helped us not overlap sections of the plans and also not miss any pages. Communication between our smaller groups inside the class were also a necessity so that we were all on a set schedule and always knew what the other was doing. Lastly communication with mentors and Friday speakers made for smooth presentations where they speaker knew what to say, where to be, and at what time. Critical thinking was also important, especially when reading the plans and physically moving the plane. The plans aren’t like lego sets used to be when we were kids. They are very complicated and usually one step has multiple actions that we must take. One missed step could unravel everything we have worked on. We have also had to move parts of the plane to different places, once to the auto shop and once to the gym. The plane is very fragile and also very expensive. We needed to figure out the fastest and safest way to move these pieces so that they are not damaged. Collaboration helped us be as efficient and safe as possible. With everyone helping out that means that there are more eyes and brains that could either double check that the building is correct or also to find errors. We are all accountable if there is a mistake, but the chances we make one go way down if everyone is paying attention. We did not have any instances where we could be creative. The plane has a set plan or way as to how we build it. We have to follow every step, which limits the creativity of our group. But we were able to use it elsewhere. We had some freedom when it came to the auto shop. When we moved in we were told to do anything we wanted as long as it was in the designated area given to us. It was nice to have a bigger space and we were able to be more organized.
As for expanding the program and gaining funds, the fundraiser event that Olivia put together should become an annual event. We were able to raise $6,200 in one evening and this money gives us the opportunity to use the funds on the unpurchased kits and any other roadblock future years may face. As well, promoting our individual websites, as well as the Project Pegasus website, more people can gain knowledge of the incredible opportunity we all have to build the plane, which hopefully in turn brings more attention to the program and funding as well. We ended the year signing off the completed steps in the main instruction document, so next years class will be able to clearly see where we left off, and our instructional video adds a fun and educational introduction to the auto shop space, and the necessary information to begin where we left off. Along with the video, our mentors guidance will surely top off every other missing hole, completely preparing the next group of seniors for this opportunity.