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JAMES GULL

Internship Field: Engineering, Aeronautics & Astronautics

Major: Aeronautics & Astronautics

Host: DLR-Institut für Flugsystemtechnik (Flight Systems, German Aerospace Center)

Location: Braunschweig

Duration: 3 months in Summer 2004

 

Description: "My first project was to read through a series of papers on Ground Effect Vehicles and make a summary of different vehicles and points for a colleague starting a simulation of a ground effect vehicle.  My second and main project was to design a whirling arm test rig to test a model aircraft with terrain avoidance controls.  My analysis ascertained that the project would not yield valid data due to inertial effects, and so the project was not built. My third project was to design in Matlab a ground proximity warning system for our department's new simulator. This system gives voice annunciations to the pilot that warns him of potential flight into terrain."

Comment:: "My first project was not that worthwhile, but it only lasted the first week. My other two projects were very valuable, mostly because of new skills I learned.  I learned to use CATIA, the aerospace industry standard drafting program, Matlab Simulink, some OpenGL graphics programming, and control systems engineering.  All will be useful to my future studies and/or career.  The most personally rewarding part was learning new tools on my own, and applying them to real engineering problems."

For further information, please write to jamiegull@gmail.com

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