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Week 1

Hello!

GOOD HEAVENS—it was the first week of the new semester! I would say that it went well, but the first two days were very hard getting back into the swing of things. I got back Sunday night and got everything set up for the week—my new blender and coffee machine—and then ended up putting away all of my clothes and the rest of the stuff I brought back. When I first got my schedule for this semester, I thought that it was going to be pretty rough. It wasn’t as bad as I thought, but I was dreading my Wednesdays. I go from 9am–5:30pm with back-to-back classes. This Wednesday wasn’t exactly bad because my Wednesday lab got cancelled.

Monday

So to really begin, I’ll start with my Monday. I got up at around 8:30am to go TA for a course named AT 26502. It is taught by Professor Barnes. I took this course last semester and got an A, so he had asked me to be his TA this semester. This course is an in-depth study of aircraft electrical components, both individually and as systems in the aircraft. DC electrical circuits, series and parallel circuits, magnetism, and electromagnetism are covered, as well as DC power systems, schematics, and aircraft wiring practices. Aircraft charging systems, main power distribution, solid-state electronics, batteries, and motors are also discussed.That went until about 12:30pm, and then I had a small break in between. Around 2pm, I headed to my last class, AT 381. This class is Aviation Security. This course introduces the challenges and complexity of aviation security faced by aviation professionals across the industry. It traces the evolution of current security approaches and explores technologies and processes targeting threat mitigation and improved operational efficiency. When going through the syllabus, I realized that there was an opportunity to sign up for an AAAE certification. It is for an airport security coordinator, and Professor Kelly said that almost every airport uses this course once you start training at an airport job. I learned that if I took the course, then I would be exempt from case studies and debates, which isn’t necessarily my goal, but the certification is good to have and I get an awesome student discount right now. Obviously, I decided to sign up for the course.

Tuesday

Next comes my Tuesday. Tuesday is a little more busy for me. I woke up at 6am to get to my Student Dispatching job by 7am. I worked until 9:30. It was fun but took a little bit to get back into the swing of things. On Tuesday, I was feeling a little ill, so it wasn’t the best, but whatever. After work, I went to my first class, AT 219. AT 219 is a class that will further develop skills and understanding of small aerial systems. Emphasis will be on design, selection, construction, flight test, evaluation, and repair of stabilized unmanned aircraft. Emphasis will also be placed on advancing manual flight control skills utilizing an advanced simulator and student-constructed rotorcraft. We are actually using this website for the course. First, we had lecture and then we walked straight to lab. In lab, we ended up in the same groups from last semester, which was a total coincidence. Then we ended up observing other groups’ aircraft, which is the Believer drone, and we made a punch list. A punch list is a list that describes what the groups still have to do, have done wrong, should double-check, or have done well. After 219, I went home for a little and then went to AT 362. AT 362 is a course called Advanced Airport Operations. This course introduces students to the principles of managing a complex aviation operation. Students will be assigned active roles in monitoring and reporting on aircraft flight and maintenance practices. Every student will be assigned a role as part of a small group whose responsibility is to gather appropriate information, develop reports, and conduct practical research tasks as assigned. Weekly and monthly group meetings will be conducted similar to those found in the airline industry, with students playing an active role in these meetings. We went over the syllabus and talked about how eventually we will form companies and do group exercises to see how aviation businesses run in real life. Towards the end, we learned that we had to submit a resume and cover letter by that night, and we signed up for interviews with the professor after class. The purpose of the interview was so that he could go over our resume and cover letter with us and critique them. I would say it went well. He really liked my resume and cover letter—don’t want to toot my own horn though. Now I’m getting ahead of myself, let me take you to my Wednesday.

Wednesday

Okay, hello! Now we are at the dreaded Wednesday schedule. My first class of the day was AT 319. The first part of this class was AT 309, and that is on this website, so it is pretty similar. In AT 309, we are focusing on the construction and flight test demonstration of fully autonomous aircraft. System performance will be monitored in real time. Post-flight analysis, with system performance evaluation and optimization, will be covered. After the lecture, I had to go to AT 335. This is an add-on of the AT 265 course I did last semester as well. AT 335 focuses on the theory of operation and applications of common electrical components used in various aircraft circuits. The theory and mathematical relationships of alternating current, reactance, impedance, and phase shift are examined. Operational theory, installation practices, and troubleshooting concepts of common aircraft communication and navigation systems are investigated. We just went over the syllabus. After the AT 335 lab, I was supposed to have another lecture for that class, but we got through the syllabus and everything we were supposed to cover. After 335, I was supposed to have AT 381 lecture, but that was cancelled because our teacher had to do interviews. Then we didn’t end up going to the AT 319 lab because that was cancelled as well. I had the interview I mentioned previously at 5:50 and then a safety meeting from 6pm–8pm. And that wraps up my Wednesday.

Thursday

Thursday was basically a repeat of Tuesday; however, there was one lecture added that ended up being cancelled, and I didn’t have AT 335 lecture. We also didn’t have AT 362 lecture because of the interviews. I did go to my AT 219 lecture, and we had to write about an article we read. It was about the FCC banning drones and re-allowing them, but only banning certain parts, brands, etc. After my class, I did some studying, and then I had night shift at the airport for Student Dispatch from 5:30–12. I was really able to get a hold of what I should do and the different little things I have to pay attention to. I felt super confident after this shift.

Friday

Friday—Friday I had my AT 381 lecture, and it got out early, which was nice but kind of a bummer. We talked about different past threats in security and how different attacks led to different security changes within aviation. I learned that TSA isn’t just a checkpoint at the airport; it is a real organization. I also learned about the underwear bomber, shoe bomber, and liquid bomber. We have a presentation due in this class based on PSA Flight 1771 involving David Burke. That was a different story from what I have heard, and it is kind of hard to read and see that someone can be so unhappy and have so much hatred toward another person.

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