Mock Job Application

With summer right around the corner most students are deep in their job search, either for an internship or a full time job.  To help better prepare students, Iron Range Engineering is having students go through a mock job application.  This includes finding a job posting to tailor resumes and cover letters to, having a phone interview with faculty members, as well as going through a mock interview.  Currently we are about two thirds through the process.  Phone interviews took place last week and mock interviews are scheduled for this Wednesday. 

This is a great process that IRE has its student participate in.  We are able to receive feedback on each of the different steps in the application process.  It prepares us for the next steps we take in our lives and the unknown. 

By: Kali O’Brien

Read By: Danielle Goebel 

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Seven IRE students traveled to Mankato University last week to take part in a vibrations lab. We were able to complete seven labs that dealt with various topics in vibrations, ranging from torsional systems to vibrations of an airplane wing.

The labs were successful, giving us hands on experience in areas that we have been studying theoretically.
Shown below are two of the systems that we worked on. The first was a rotational system that was out of balanced. We were required to add weights to different areas to balance the system. The second system had a forced vibration and a vibration absorber. We were able to make the center of the system almost completely still by driving it at the natural frequency of the absorber.

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Wikispeed Progress

The Wikispeed team has made significant progress in the past few weeks. Since the client meeting in seattle the group has ordered most of the necessary parts and built up the vehicle to a complete rolling chassis. The frame material was shipped from Seattle and welded together by the students at Mesabi's Eveleth campus. Once the frame was transported to IRE the team was able to drill out the frame and assemble the suspension modules. Once the performance wheels where fitted to it the team was able to roll it into the new work space. 

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Construction Update

The expansion that was scheduled to be finished for this semester has been delayed, but is expected to be completed within the next few weeks. The equipment has begun to come in to the new lab, and we are all looking forward to this and the increase in learning that we will be able to achieve with these tools at our disposal. 

Unloading the CNC Lathe

Placing the CNC Lathe

A look down the New Hallway

A look into one of the rooms on the Second Floor

a look down the Stairway

The New Lobby

Proofread by: Michael Rudi

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Generation 3 Next Steps

For many of us at Iron Range Engineering, this is our last semester as undergraduate students. What this means is it is time to get ready for the real world, whether it be graduate school, a career in engineering, or a related career. This time is filled with many mixed emotions.

The two that I am experiencing are excitement and anxiety. It is exciting to know that I have made it. What seemed like a giant scary mountain four years ago now seems like a tiny foothill compared to what comes next.

The anxiety comes from the unknown. I know that Iron Range Engineering and my other experiences have prepared me for the real world but there is still a fear of the unknown. On May 20^th when I start my first real job, I will have to learn fast. I feel that no school or individual can fully prepare me for every situation that I will face. That being said, I feel that this program has set me up for success; no matter what path I choose to follow.

Grant Roy

Read by: Kali O’Brien

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CO Detector Service Bulletin

We recently discovered that the onboard carbon monoxide detector (CO) could go into an alarm mode prematurely. Guardian Avionics, the manufacturer of the CO Detector, has recently issued Service Bulletin 23-454-01, indicating CO Detectors with software versions other than 1.62 can go into an alarm mode if the carbon monoxide level rises above 20 PPM, instead of the required threshold of 50 PPM. This may result in an early warning to the MFD causing the pilot to be prematurely concerned about carbon monoxide build up in the cabin.

We released Service Bulletin SB2X-31-06 which inspects for the software revision and replaces the CO detector if necessary.

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G5 Behind the Scenes Part 1

As I had mentioned in the previous post, and the one two years ago, adding 200 additional pounds to the gross weight of the airplane, without adding much of anything to the empty weight of the airplane seems like a simple task, but the reality is that it is quite difficult. Three years, numerous tests, hours of analysis, and over 40 reports were all required for this project.

We knew there were a lot of details that needed to be looked at, so we started looking at those areas quite a while ago. It started with making a list of all the structures and systems in the airplane and then going through them one by one to verify they were good for the new higher weight.

We started with the structure of the airplane. We needed a good safe structure to support all the systems level changes that would be required later in the project. Detailed loads reports were re-written for all the structures on the airplane. Fuselage, wing, vertical tail, horizontal tail. With new loads reports, that meant we had to go through all the structural analysis for all of those structures as well and publish new structural analysis reports. Physically, this meant changes to the wing spar, and some changes to the fuselage structure.

With the structural analysis changes, it also meant having to redo the flutter analysis, and a report documenting that. A significant amount of work also went into the fatigue and damage tolerance analysis to keep the current 12,000 hour life limit.

So you can begin to sense a theme of cascading design and analysis changes. How looking at or changing one area, leads to the need to look at and change another area. It is a theme that we would see in a couple different areas of the airplane, and I will describe in future posts.

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