307 Wrap-Up
Well, itās been one hell of a quarter, with structures, this class, and CPSS. First, Iāll wrap up the lab hack. As I said in the last post, construction is complete, and on Friday we were able to get the data as promised. 3 hours later than scheduled, but that was mostly the fault of a campus-wide power outage (The Scanivalve Gone Walkabout group was none too happy about it, though). I havenāt had the time to properly analyze the data yet, though, so I donāt yet know if our modifications made any difference. At a glance, though, our run did seem to have a higher dynamic pressure in the tunnel than before the modifications (1,360 over 1,260), which is at least promising (but inconclusive because of varying ambient conditions, etc). And hey, at the very least, it looks cool.Ā
Course Reflection
As before, Iām not inspired enough to do a free-form reflection, so Iāll settle for answering some (summarized versions of) reflection questions that Dr. Doig has thoughtfully provided.
What was your experince with the more open-ended style of project presented in this class, where you were given only a goal and not a procedure?
Itās pretty interesting, actually. Iām no stranger to the idea of an open ended project. After all, Iām heavily involved with CPSS, and thatās 90% of what we do - set out a goal and figure out how to get there. I actually found it more difficult in the 307 environment, though, mostly because of the lack of hierarchy. For comparison: Ā Ā Ā In CPSS, thereās a leadership structure. I dictate the design for the avionics systems, and then delegate labor to make them happen. The avionics are designed to meet the requirements laid out by the president, Adam, who has the final say in all matters. If thereās ever a design dispute, we discuss until it seems each side has made a complete argument, and if we hit an impasse, the president makes the decision. This setup is useful in a couple of ways. Most obviously, it provides an easy way to move design along - just ask Adam. But it also makes sure that everyone knows what theyāre responsible for; I donāt sit around hoping someone will take care of the avionics, because I know itās my job. Ā Ā Ā In 307, though, none of this structure exists. This means that design discussions are more difficult to conclude, and can result result in some sneaky politics if youāre not careful (we avoided this, thankfully). Also, if the group isnāt careful to assign jobs, some tasks just get left floating around until someone realizes theyāre in the best position to get them done. For example, Eric wasnāt assigned to be our shopper, he just decided that, since he was commuting from off-campus anyway, he might as well hit up the hardware store. Similarly, on the night before our last lab day, I realized that we hadnāt coordinated a way to cut our foam inserts, so I reached out to a friend in DBF, who was willing to give up a couple hours on the morning before lab to help Kyle and I cut foam (Thanks Kurt!). Something that did end up falling through the cracks was a second tuft test. I didnāt mention the first one until now because no one shared the video with me, but we missed doing the second one entirely because Ā everyone either forgot or waited for someone else to do it. Ā Ā Ā Despite all that, I donāt think there should be a hierarchy established for teams next year, like having the TAās and Dr. Doig choose a project lead. Itās good for us to get practice in creating organization from nothing.
Other than time constraints, what was the most challenging portion of this class?
Time constraints. I know other students will have a lot to say here, so Iāll keep things brief. This is supposed to be a two unit class, and yet it easily took as much time as other four unit major classes. Iām actually ok with that, though. I donāt think there would have been a way for me to get as much out of this course in less time. I would suggest, however, attempting to stagger the different groups that require heavy tunnel usage. Maybe have groups like PROVE and the PIV people do more work early in the quarter before 307 starts the open-ended projects, or prioritize the other way, and have 307 do their open-ended projects when groups like PROVE and the PIV people arenāt going to be as active.
What was the most memorable moment of the course?
The sexy water tunnel videos. Cāetait vraiment magnifique. (Et je nāsavais pas que Dr. Doig parle francais. Cāest cool, ca.)
One last thought
Several Aero professors have reminded us to fill out the online course evaluations, since if they continue to get low response rates, theyāll have to go back to paper evaluations. Instead, Iād suggest just giving us some time in a class period to do the online forms, just as was done with the paper ones. Thatās why the response rate was so much higher on the scantrons - not because students prefer pencil and paper, but because there was time set aside specifically to do the reviews. Iām saying this here because, despite all the reminder emails, I still havenāt done any of the online evaluations. And even when Iām done here, though itās already on my mind, I probably still wonāt do them. I have a structures final tomorrow!
