First Rotation: Production Engineering
Introduction
This was my first rotation for my co-op with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation. I was placed in the production engineering department working on production structures support for the G450 and G550. Although the G450 and G550 are some of Gulfstream’s oldest aircraft they are continuously being changed and improved to be better aircraft and more cost effective. The changes and improvements are what I worked on in the production engineering department.
Projects
While working for production engineering I was able to experience a variety of different jobs which gave me a good overall picture of how the different departments in company worked together towards a common goal. I was also very fortunate to be able to receive training on CATIA v4 and v5 which are the main computer aided drafting (CAD) software that Gulfstream as well as the majority of many other aerospace companies use to design their aircraft.
When I first arrived I was primarily responsible for working Engineering Change Requests (ECRs) that had to do with the structure of the aircraft. These ECRs are basically a request from a ME working on the production floor to change the engineering of the plane in one way or another. The requests can be anything as simple as correcting a typo in the parts list of a drawing to redesigning a bulkhead in order to accommodate new wiring. The process can be somewhat complicated but I’ll do my best to explain. Once I receive an ECR from my lead I have to research the problem to make sure it’s something that needs to be fixed and I also have to establish a business case for making the change. This is called the evaluation stage of an ECR. With this research I have to make a PowerPoint presentation to present to technical review board as well as the Engineering Change Control Board (ECCB). Once I get the ECR approved by these boards I am ready to start writing the Engineering Order (EO) which is basically a solution to the problem stated by the ECR. Once I have completed the EO (which is written in CATIA V4) I have to submit it to the check group which makes sure that there are no typos and that everything is formatted to all of Gulfstream’s standards. Finally, once check says the EO is good I get to present the EO I wrote at an off board meeting where I explain all of the changes I made to solve the problem and hopefully get my EO approved and signed.
During my co-op this rotation I was very fortunate in that I was able to work on the production floor with the master craftsmen from all of the different departments for about three weeks. This experience completely changed my views about how airplanes are made. I was able to see how the changes I made to the engineering of the airplane directly affect the mechanics. During my three weeks I also got to learn how to do a lot of the different manufacturing tasks such as shooting rivets and countersinking holes. I also got to see some of the difficulties the mechanics encounter when building an airplane and why most defects are caused and how the master craftsmen went about making repairing the defects. It’s really amazing how you can design the best part in the world on CATIA, but if it’s impossible to build then it’s useless. My experience on the floor definitely changed my perspective on all of the different things that you need to take into account when designing an airplane.
Final Thoughts
Overall working for Gulfstream was an awesome experience. I learned a lot more about how airplanes are built/work than I ever could’ve imagined. I was able to meet and work with a lot of different people in the company which hopefully will help me to get a job in the future. It is such a difference being able to go out in the real world and see what challenges engineers encounter on a day to day basis. I would definitely recommend a co-op at Gulfstream to anyone who is interested in Aerospace because you get to learn a lot and it’s a great company to work for.
Second Rotation: Human Factors Engineering
Introduction
This was my second rotation for my co-op with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation. I was placed in the Human Factors engineering department working on integrating new concepts for the flight deck for the G650 program as well as the Advanced Aircraft Program (AAP). The G650 is Gulfstream’s newest aircraft while AAP is responsible for developing Gulfstream’s future planes.
Projects
While working with the human factors engineering department I worked on a variety of different projects that gave me a good overall picture of how the human factors engineering department worked. I was also very fortunate to be able to receive advanced surfacing and kinematics training on CATIA v5, which is the main 3D modeling software that Gulfstream, as well as the majority of many other aerospace companies, use to design their aircraft.
The majority of my projects in the human factors department were to support new product evaluations, which were mostly for the AAP flight deck. In order I to do this I had to first install the product in the Operational Prototyping Evaluation Lab (OPEL), basically a mock-up cockpit, and ensure that everything was located correctly. Then I had to develop and execute pilot surveys and tests on the new product to get their feedback. Then after I collected the data I would write and Interoffice Memo (IOM) explaining the test procedure, analyzing the data, and providing recommendations for improvements on the product.
Some of the other projects I had were to perform CATIA analyses on various flight controls to ensure they were ergonomic and easy to use. I would do this by taking measurements of the part and using the Human Builder workbench in CATIA, which allows you to insert manikins of various heights and weights and perform different analyses on them to ensure the operation of the flight control would be comfortable and easy to use. After, I would record the results of the analyses in an IOM.
One of the most fun projects I had the pleasure of working on involved the Gulfstream Cabin Management System (GCMS). This is basically an iPod Application that is used to control the cabin environment (window shades, temperature, entertainment, lights, etc) for both the G650 and G280. For this project I preformed usability tests on the application, which basically makes sure that anyone can use the app easily, even with little or no previous experience with an iPod. I had to write up a test procedure, just like the other projects, which had the participants perform various tasks with the application. After I ran the tests I had to write an IOM which documented my findings and made suggestions on how to improve the app to make it more user-friendly.
Final Thoughts
Overall working for Gulfstream was an awesome experience. I learned a lot more about how airplanes are built/work than I ever could’ve imagined. I was able to meet and work with a lot of different people in the company, which hopefully will help me with my future career in the industry. It is such a difference from school being able to go out in the real world and see what challenges engineers face on a day-to-day basis. I would definitely recommend a co-op at Gulfstream to anyone who is interested in aerospace engineering because, even though it’s a small company, it’s growing rapidly and there are lots of opportunities to learn. Overall, Gulfstream is a great company to work for.
Third Rotation: Flight Dynamics Engineering
Introduction
This was my third rotation for my co-op with Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation. I was placed in the Flight Sciences engineering department working for the flight dynamics group on Advanced Aircraft Programs (AAP).
Projects
While working with the flight dynamics group I worked on a variety of different projects that gave me a good overall picture of my group’s responsibilities. All of my projects involved me working with MATLAB and Simulink extensively in order to perform various analyses.
My first project was to estimate the normal operational rudder pedal duty cycle requirements for one of Gulfstream’s future aircraft. I was able to accomplish this task by taking data that was recorded from normal operational flight profiles flown in Gulfstream’s simulator by test pilots. With this data I was able to use MATLAB to determine the number of times the rudder pedal was deflected and how far it was deflected. With this information I was able to estimate the total rudder pedal duty cycle based on the predicted number of times each mission would occur in the aircraft’s typical lifetime. Once I had the estimate I wrote my results in an Inter Office Memo to the Flight Controls group who will use the information when defining the rudder pedal requirements and when endurance testing the pedals.
Another project I worked on was updating the ground effect look-up tables in the simulator. More specifically, I had to take the Aerodynamics group’s newest wind tunnel data for the aircraft in free air and use it to predict the new in ground effect Cl vs. alpha curve, Cd vs. alpha curve, as well as the Epsilon (downwash angle) vs. alpha curve. I accomplished this task by writing a script that would take the free air data from the wind tunnel test and apply an Engineering and Sciences Data Unit (ESDU) method on the data to predict what the new in ground effect curves would look like. Once I had the in ground effect data I implemented it into the simulator.
Finally, another project I got to work on was defining the normally encountered positions of the lateral and longitudinal control surfaces on takeoff and landing. For this task I had to work with the performance group in order to get the V speeds and define the different states for the aircraft at takeoff and landing for all the different weight codes we were analyzing. After obtaining this data I was able to run a trim routine with the simulator for each weight case which gave me the positions of all the control surfaces required to maintain the initial states of the aircraft. The data I found was then written up and given to the Loads and Dynamics department for further analyses of the resulting stresses on the aircraft if the control positions jammed on takeoff/landing.
Final Thoughts
Overall working for Gulfstream was an awesome experience. In the Flight Dynamics group I learned an incredible amount about the stability and control of the aircraft as well as how to utilize MATLAB to perform various analyses. I was able to meet and work with a lot of different people in the company, which hopefully will help me with my future career in the industry. It is such a difference from school being able to go out in the real world and see what challenges engineers face on a day-to-day basis. I would definitely recommend a co-op at Gulfstream to anyone who is interested in aerospace engineering because, even though it’s a small company, it’s growing rapidly and there are lots of opportunities to learn.
