Five Air Force Academy cadets intern at AEDC

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  Five Air Force Academy cadets who recently spent five weeks at AEDC with the Air Force Academy's Cadet Summer Research Program, enjoyed the break from studying and saw practical ways to apply what they had been pursuing academically.

Cadets Steven Alsen, Tate Montgomery, Andrew Petry, Bryan Rhoades and Jason Black worked in different areas of the base but shared some common experiences.

"Coming to Arnold AFB has been a great opportunity," said Cadet 1st Class Petry. "I am a hands-on learner, so it was nice to get out of the classroom and be able to apply some of the knowledge I have gained in my three years at the Air Force Academy.

"My project allowed me to see aspects of the acquisition process I never knew existed. I worked daily with Air Force military and civilians, ATA contractors and even independent inventors from a small business who delivered a system through a Small Business Innovative Research contract."

Petry is a senior who is pursuing an aeronautical engineering degree.

"I learned a great deal of technical information about laser diagnostics and flow seeding, but more importantly I was able to peer into the life of a developmental engineer and project manager," he said. "My goal is to become a developmental/flight test engineer after commissioning so my experience at AEDC has been very informative."

Petry said the program that brought him and the other cadets to AEDC has ambitious goals.

"The Cadet Summer Research Program is much larger than sending a few cadets to one or two military bases," he said. "Cadets are sent all over the country and even to other countries to work with military, government or civilian institutions in academic disciplines varying from particle physics to political science."

Cadet 1st Class Montgomery, an aeronautical engineering senior, said, "Working at AEDC for the past month has been great; I've learned a whole lot here. I've gotten a great exposure to the engineering world, and I'm sure this experience will help me in the future."

Montgomery said the five weeks he spent at AEDC will have a lasting impact.

"Highlights from this past month have included learning how to run a computer program designed to solve structural dynamics, meeting the objective of my project and working with some of the smartest engineers I've ever met," he said. "I am working on a project that deals with processing balance data to determine true static aerodynamic forces and moments.

"I've been developing an inertial model using a computational program that will correctly represent the sting and balance system used in wind tunnel testing. My contribution to this project has included meeting the objective of creating an accurate inertial model to be used for further analysis and identifying issues for further testing. I'm a rising senior at the USAFA [academy]."

Cadet 1st Class Alsen agreed with his fellow cadets, saying the summer program has already paid dividends.

"Working at Arnold AFB has been one of the best opportunities for me as a cadet," he said. "I learned a great deal about what needs to be done in order to complete a task. The best lesson was the amount of coordination that goes into a project.

"One of the highlights was being able to see an F-135 test and all of the work that goes into it. My focus is in propulsion so I was excited for that opportunity. Also, the chance to use my education and skills in a non-academic environment helped me to validate the countless hours spent studying.

"My project was Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) Accuracy Analysis. Although there was coordination involved, I was the only person working on this project directly. This gave me a great sense of fulfillment being able to present work that was my own. I am a senior at the academy and my major is aeronautical engineering."

For Cadet 1st Class Rhoades, an aeronautical engineering senior, time spent at Arnold resulted in tangible benefits.

He said what made the experience particularly satisfying was, "Seeing the culmination of several weeks' worth of work pay actual dividends to the Air Force and not just to a grade."

Petry said spending time at AEDC and in middle Tennessee provided a balance of professional and personal benefits.

"The work-related highlight of my visit was being able to assist in the delivery and initial testing of a new laser Doppler velocimetry probe," he said. "Other highlights of the trip included briefing the AFMC commander on the technology behind laser flow diagnostics and exploring the local area.

"My main contribution to the SM3 LDV (sub-miniature three component laser-Doppler velocimetry) system involved characterizing what type of flow seeding technique works best for this new technology. AEDC owns several flow seeders, which are basically fog machines. Different flow seeders are optimized for certain wind tunnel conditions based on the sizes of particles they create and the rate at which they create them. I created a database of information about each flow seeder so that the SM3 LDV system can be fully and efficiently utilized in future testing.

"All the cadets here also found that southern Tennessee is a great place to relax, unwind and recharge after another tough semester."