Avion Issue 11 Fall 2017

| Issue 11 | Volume 148 | Tuesday, December 5, 2017 | theavion.com |

Photo Courtesy: Sodexo and Starbucks

Holy Frap! The New UC’s Starbucks is Bigger Than Ever!

An inside look into the food options in the new Student Union

The final list of the food options that will be featured in the new Student Union has been released. Excluding Starbucks, all the dining services will be on the first floor towards the western portion of the Student Union.

The most notable upgrade coming to the Student Union is a full-service Chickfil-A. Torrie Smith, the Sodexo operations manager on campus, explained that this Chick-fil-A would be like the ones in Daytona and Port Orange regarding the menu. This means that milkshakes, ice cream, and other menu items not offered in the UC's Chick-fil-A Express will now be available for consumption.

A close second in popularity to Chickfil-A will be the debut of Qdoba. Qdoba is a Mexican chain restaurant that can best be described as being similar to Moe's or Chipotle. This comes as a significant upgrade from the Landing Strip's "fake Chipotle." The offerings will be similar with Qdoba serving tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and rice bowls.

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The most notable upgrade coming to the Student Union is a full-service Chick-fil-A.

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Other upgrades include Propellers moving out of the trailer on Legacy Walkway and into the Student Union.

Their space will be bigger than what they had at the restaurant behind the College of Aviation that was demolished about two years ago. From what Smith told the Avion, the menu items have not seemed to change. The other upgrade comes to Starbucks which will be on the second floor. This Starbucks will be bigger than the current or previous iterations and

boasts more seating. It will have a more open feel and will also be getting furniture to give it a modern vibe. An annexed part of Starbucks will showcase students' photography and artwork. With the library occupying half of the third floor and all of the fourth floor, students will have to walk a bit from the library to get their caffeine fix.

Other dining options in the upcoming Student Union include a "food servery area." This concept will be similar to a food court. This will include pizza, which is still being debated as to whether or not be a brick oven, a deli, a salad bar, a grill and comfort station. The last four options are the same as what the UC has currently. The back of the dining area is a network of halls and rooms where Sodexo employees can wheel carts and transport food back and forth to each of the dining locations. This will significantly decrease the traffic in the halls and students will not have to worry about being hit with carts.

With these upgrades comes some questions. For instance, what will happen to Freshens? Freshens will not be in the Student Union and, therefore, its future is solely dependent on the future of the Student Center which has not yet been decided. It may be torn down or converted to something else.

After the Student Union is completed, construction will begin on the newest dorm in the lot between Apollo and New Dorm. The first floor, of which, will have an all-you-can-eat buffet. This means that the space where the buffet is now in the Student Village is open to a plethora of options in the coming years.

With the Student Union being a mere semester away from completion, The Avion Newspaper will provide as many updates as possible as they become available. Please check back next semester to learn more about the new Student Union.

Orbital ATK Takes on Dept. of Defense Michael Weinhoffer Staff Reporter On July 12, 2017, an opinion ruling was issued by Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in the matter of Orbital ATK v. Walker.

The plaintiff of the case was Orbital ATK, which frequently launches cargo missions to the International Space Station, and the defendant was the Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and its acting director, Dr. Steven Walker. The case concerned Orbital ATK and DARPA fighting over competing satellite programs, with the defense emerging victorious. This case is a great example of a private spaceflight company directly competing with the U.S. government, and thus warrants further discussion.

In short, Orbital ATK argued that a DARPA satellite program called "Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites" (RSGS) violates President Obama's 2010 National Space Policy (NSP), and therefore should be canceled. RSGS will consist of a spacecraft inspection, repairs, and correction of the orbit of geostationary satellites, which are very expensive and difficult to maintain once in orbit. This program has been in development for several years.

On the private side, Orbital ATK has been developing Mission Extension Vehicles (MEVs) since 2008, which also aims to service geostationary satellites. In 2016, Orbital ATK's CEO wrote to DARPA and said that its well-developed RSGS program was in direct competition with Orbital ATK's program, and would harm investments into the MEV program. DARPA contended

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This case is a great example of a private spaceflight company directly competing with the U.S. government, and thus warrants further discussion.

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Collin Anderson News Editor

that the two competing programs had different goals, but Orbital ATK did not find the response satisfactory.

DARPA still wanted Orbital ATK to manufacture the spacecraft, but Orbital ATK repeatedly proposed different paths that DARPA should take to avoid competition with the MEV program. After failing to come to a compromise on the goals of the RSGS mission, DARPA stopped working with Orbital ATK and instead selected one of Orbital ATK's competitors, Space Systems Loral, to manufacture the spacecraft. Shortly thereafter, Orbital ATK filed a lawsuit against DARPA, claiming that the agency violated multiple provisions of the 2010 NSP, which today remains the official space policy of the U.S. Orbital ATK claimed that DARPA, by law, needed to implement commercial space capabilities when developing the RSGS program, such as MEV components, and discouraged U.S. commercial space activity by not doing so. Instead of merging the MEV and RSGS program, DARPA decided to develop a very similar program with another partner. The case was brought before the district court to determine if DARPA had indeed violated the NSP and that the RSGS was to be canceled.

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Bonus Bucks Auction

Executive Board Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Business Manager Photography Editor Advertising Manager

Henry Neiberlien Andrew Bronshteyn Collin Anderson Sariah Adviento Vipul Telang Payton Muglia

Page Editors Front Editor Campus Editors Feature Editors Aviation Editor Space Editor Motorsports Editor Entertainment Editors Copy Editors

Collin Anderson Samantha Stirmel Keenan Thungtrakul Chaz Pokraki Levi Duncan Victoria Jordan Jaclyn Wiley Rajan Khanna K’Andrew France-Beckford Nick Hernandez Nicole Drevlow Brandon Collins

Staff Contributors Reporters Emily Rickel Samantha Stirmel Michael Weinhoffer Rajan Khanna Victoria Jordan

Photographers Vipul Telang Samantha Stirmel Rajan Khanna Collin Anderson Andrew Bronshteyn

Correspondents Sarah Fairchild, Francisco Pastrana, Kelsey Klein, Alessia Ames, Levi Duncan, Peter Vane

Staff Advisor Virginia-Beth Joiner

Contact Information Main Phone: (386) 226-6049 Ad Manager: (386) 226-7697 Fax Number: (386) 226-6016 Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Business Manager Photography Editor Advertising Manager

editor@theavion.com managing@theavion.com news@theavion.com business@theavion.com photo@theavion.com advertising@theavion.com

Website: theavion.com

Emily Rickel Staff Reporter

Over 150 students exchanged their hardearned Bonus Bucks for an auction paddle at the Bonus Bucks Auction sponsored by Student Engagement & Student Union and the Student Government Association (SGA) on Nov. 29.

First implemented in 2008, the Bonus Bucks Program is meant to encourage students to attend campus events.

“Our department sees great value in co-curricular involvement and students engaging with various campus events throughout the year,” explained Dustin Beech, Assistant Director for Campus Activities.

“We believe that academic, cultural and social events

enhance and complement the student experience.”

To participate in the Bonus Bucks Program, students can attend select campus events and swipe their EAGLEcard with an event representative to collect pretend monetary units called Bonus Bucks. At the end of the semester, these Bonus Bucks can be used to bid on dozens of prizes at the Bonus Bucks Auction.

Brendan White, a sophomore majoring in Aerospace Engineering, agrees that the program is an effective way to encourage student participation in campus events. “It is a good incentive to go to events on campus because you can get a lot of cool prizes for free.”

This semester, approximately 1,100 students

earned a total of over $23,000 in Bonus Bucks.

The Bonus Bucks Auction featured about 50 different prizes totaling over $2,000 in retail value. Popular prizes included a Playshion Longboard, a TaoTronics Sound Bar, an Amazon Echo, a Vera Bradley Travel Bag Set and a Fujifilm Polaroid Camera.

After the main auction, students could try their luck at the Game of Chance Prizes by using their remaining Bonus Bucks to purchase raffle tickets for a shot to get some of the most expensive items of the night. These items included early access tickets to the Blue & Gold Week Comedy Show, a Rachel Platten VIP package, a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses, and an Apple Watch.

If you missed out on

your chance to bid on these auction items, make sure you attend campus events advertised with the Bonus Bucks logo during the spring semester so you can better your chances of walking away with a great prize at the auction. All SGA events, including the Departure Lounge (Thursdays from 4 to 7 pm on the Flight Deck), TouchN-Go Thursday Night Movies (8:30 pm in the Willie Miller Instructional Center) and Blue & Gold Week activities will be giving out Bonus Bucks to attendees next semester.

For more information about the Bonus Bucks Program, or to provide suggestions for prizes to be featured at next semester’s auction, contact Dustin Beech at beechd1@erau.edu.

An Evening with Bob Schieffer Sarah Fairchild Correspondent On the night of Monday, Nov. 20, Embry-Riddle hosted CBS newsman and former moderator of “Face the Nation,” Bob Schieffer. During the hour and a half discussion, moderator Marc Bernier and Schieffer would talk about the changing way in which Americans now get their news.

With a large host of media outlets and online information sources, Schieffer believes that our brains can sometimes be overloaded- unable to process the sheer amount of knowledge. Sifting through the wealth of information has become increasingly difficult, what with the numerous claims of ‘fake news’ by government officials.

However, Schieffer reminded the audience that

the first rule of journalism is to find out if something is true. “If it’s not true,” Bob says, “Then we don’t report it.” True journalists focus on two things: one, getting the truth, and two, getting it before their competitors.

When asked about his views on the most recent presidential election, Schieffer revealed that he was ashamed of how the prior election had progressed. Schieffer had been one of the moderators at the Las Vegas Debate in October and called the event a battle of attitudes, not issues. He speculated that one of the contributing factors to Trump’s success was that his opponents were running an old-fashioned campaign, while Trump himself used what is called the ‘dead cat’ theory.

The theory goes like this: if you are sitting at a table having a discussion, and

someone throws a dead cat on the table, everyone is now going to talk about the dead cat. By spouting outlandish claims, Trump was able to monopolize the airtime on media outlets and derail serious interview questions by going off on a tangent. “It worked,” Schieffer said, “but that’s not the proper strategy to run the presidency.”

Schieffer admits that, while every president has disliked the press, those who actively destroy the credibility of journalists are damaging our democracy.

“We cannot have a democracy without an independent press,” Schieffer states, continuing to reiterate that a journalist’s job is to report the facts, not to provide their own opinions. Bernier brought up the fact that our current president has often resorted to name calling, to which Schieffer merely

laughed and said, “You’ve got to do better than that!”

In closing, Bob Schieffer reminisced about how, back in the day, every mother wanted their child to grow up to be the president. Whereas nowadays, the thinking has become “I don’t want my child to be a politician.” “We need to get our best and brightest back in Washington.”

Schieffer imparts.

Before opening the floor to questions, Bernier left the audience with a quote from Schieffer, in which the former host iterated, “Most of the information [we get from news outlets] is wrong, and some of it [is] wrong on purpose. It is our job, I think, in mainstream journalism to try and cut through this mall of information and tell people what we think is relevant and what they need to know about.”

Civility Rock Painting The Avion is produced weekly during the fall and spring term, and bi-weekly during summer terms. The Avion is produced by a volunteer student staff. Student editors make all content, business and editorial decisions. The editorial opinions expressed in The Avion are solely the opinion of the undersigned writer(s), and not those of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the Student Government Association, The Avion, or the student body. Letters appearing in The Avion are those of the writer, identified at the end of the letter. Opinions expressed in the “Student Government” and “Student Life” sections are those of the identified writer. Letters may be submitted to The Avion for publication, provided they are not lewd, obscene or libelous. Letter writers must confine themselves to less than 800 words. Letters may be edited for brevity and formatted to newspaper guidelines. All letters must be signed. Names may be withheld at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

The Avion is an open forum for student expression. The Avion is a division of the Student Government Association. The Avion is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press. The costs of this publication are paid by the Student Government Association and through advertising fees.

The Avion distributes one free copy per person. Additional copies are $0.75. Theft of newspapers is a crime, and is subject to prosecution and Embry-Riddle judicial action. This newspaper and its contents are protected by United States copyright law. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, in print or electronically, without the expressed written consent of The Avion. Correspondence may be addressed to: The Avion Newspaper, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd., Daytona Beach, Florida 32114. Physical office: John Paul Riddle Student Center, Room 110. Phone: (386) 226-6049. Fax: (386) 226-6727.

Samantha Stirmel Staff Reporter

Samantha Stirmel/The Avion Newspaper

Basic Civility: the act of showing regard for others by being polite. On Tuesday, 28 November, Professor Kilbourn-Haller’s COM 122 class painted the Spirit Rock in the name of Civility.

The students were given a choice to paint the Spirit Rock or do an end of the semester project on Basic Civility, a common theme that has run throughout the course. Throughout the

semester Kilbourn-Haller’s class used the book Choosing Civility by P. M. Forini.

The class decided to paint the rock in Embry-Riddle’s school colors. On one side they painted a simple quote, “One step for Civility, one giant leap for Embry-Riddle,” with the opposing side having a painting of a person looking through a telescope at the stars. The project was one that a lot of the students in the class enjoyed and a good shake up from the normal class assignment of writing papers.

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UAV Storm Chaser Team Completes First RC Flight Test

Kelsey Klein Correspondent

On Nov. 17, the UAV Storm Chasers team completed their first Remote Controlled (RC) flight to kick off a series of test for their Capstone Project.

The team is one of five teams within Embry-Riddle’s Electrical, Computer, Software, and Systems Engineering (ECSSE) Capstone Class. The course is a two-semester class that provides students, who are in their final year, with project experience similar to what they will experience in their field of work.

This year, Dr. Massood Towhidnejad and Dr. Eduardo Rojas are the instructors for the class. At the beginning of the semester, projects were proposed to them by other Embry-Riddle faculty members, and from that list, they chose the most pertinent ones for the class.

One of the projects presented this year was the UAV Storm Chasers project, by Leo Ghelarducci. This project addresses the life-threatening and high-cost aspects of the current technique used to obtain weather measurements in severe storms, such as hurricanes. As of today, a pilot has to fly directly into the eye of the storm to release a dropsonde. The dropsonde collects a variety of measurements from the storm and relays the information back

to the plane, as it drops into the ocean where it degrades over time.

The goal of the project is to develop a new method to safely and cost-effectively obtain severe storm measurements. Two quad-rotors are being built and designed to fly autonomously on the outer rim of the storm. The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will link together to communicate and coordinate their flight path. A new circuit board is also being designed to allow for a lighter and more cost-effective storm measurement unit that can be integrated with the UAVs. It can measure the temperature, humidity, pressure and wind vectors of storms. All the data will be transmitted to a local ground station.

Seven students were chosen to work on this project. They were selected based on their major, experience and desire to work on the project. The team has a strong dynamic that has contributed to reaching many important milestones so far, with the RC flight being one of them.

The RC flight was used to demonstrate all of the communication components of the UAV linking together properly, to calibrate the motors and motor controller, to get flight time, and to go through the process of setting up all of the parameters in mission planner. The flight was a huge success and a major step to achieving the next task, to fly autonomously.

Vipul Telang/The Avion Newspaper A sUAS flies over the soccer fields behind the Student Village during a test flight.

As the end of the semester and midway point for the project approaches, the team can reflect on the strong progress made this semester. In addition to the RC flight, the team has made data maps for the weather sensors, developed the ground station, and designed the weather measurement unit. All of these accomplishments were only possible with the support of the ECSSE department, Robotics Association, UAS Technology Club, Weather Center Lab, and Aerospace Engineering

student Francisco Pastrana.

Up next for the team is a series of tests, starting with an autonomous flight. Many other tests of all of the necessary components will also take place to confirm their accuracy and precision before integrating everything together and performing the final tests. The final series of tests will be in a local storm to provide data on the communication and flight of the UAVs in severe weather and data from the weather measurement unit.

Spacecraft Prototype Technology Demo Takes the President to Mars Francisco Pastrana Correspondent On Friday, Nov. 10, the Engineering Physics Propulsion Laboratory (EPPL) had the pleasure of hosting Dr. P. Barry Butler, the President of the university, along with a few additional colleagues for a technology demonstration of their prototype spacecraft, the JX-01. Celebrating two

major milestones in the long-term spacecraft development project, the EPPL showcased the large strides it has made over the last two years in developing autonomous spacecraft control systems, as well as the recent incorporation of an immersive virtual reality simulation environment. Following the lab’s presentation, Dr. Butler and his associates were given the reins to manually operate the prototype spacecraft

Andrew Bronshteyn/The Avion Newspaper Francisco Pastrana presents the model for EPPL’s Mars spacecraft to the ERAU President, P. Barry Butler.

in the lab and don the VR headset, placing them in a breathtaking sunrise simulation on Mars next to the spacecraft. After returning to Earth, and the lab, the group learned about past EPPL projects and their impact on current projects, a broad array of other ongoing projects and the bold path forward being paved by the laboratory.

Located in the College of Arts and Sciences, the advanced research facility is home to a number of ambitious, innovative and determined students pursuing the future of the rapidly growing and expanding the field of space exploration.

Dr. Sergey Drakunov, Associate Dean of Research for the COAS who founded EPPL, mentors this group of students; the lab is also aided by Dr. Patrick Currier, Mike DuPuis (a NASA mentor), Bill Russo and student start-up Beyond Ares Technologies. The lab’s creation would not have been possible without the generous donation of Mr. Jay D’Amico, CEO of Louisiana Steam Company. Also, essential support of establishing EPPL was provided by former dean of the COAS, Dr. William Grams, and Associate Dean Jan Collins. Additional support was provided by NASA, Honeybee Robotics, Micro Aerospace Solutions and Dr. Karen Gaines, the current Dean of the COAS. By utilizing the vast knowledge base and experience of all parties involved, the lab can develop and maintain stateof-the-art capabilities that are needed to pursue the multiple avenues of researching, developing, and testing cutting-edge

space exploration technologies.

Fittingly, the lab currently hosts three spacecraft prototypes, two of which were designed and built by NASA with the help of Embry-Riddle students and faculty in previous semesters. However, the star of Friday’s show was the third and newest prototype, the internally designated JX-01.

Designed, built, and tested by students, the JX-01 successfully performed basic rotational maneuvers and self-stabilization upon disturbances for the demonstration.

The primary means of control will be fully autonomous and benefit from visual cognition deep-learning technologies. Dual-joysticks coupled with a virtual reality interface are also being developed to manually control and test the vehicle. This interface can additionally be used to interact with a simulative environment.

The lab hosts a group of students unified under a startup company named Beyond Ares Technologies, LLC. The company’s mission is to design, develop and deploy the world’s most advanced spacecraft. The students share a common vision of an industrialized solar system, teeming with autonomous vehicles. Many of the advancements within the laboratory thrust Embry-Riddle into the forefront of the space exploration field. With the help of Embry-Riddle’s dedicated Engineering Physics Propulsion Laboratory team, Embry-Riddle will not just move with the topic of space exploration into a new era, but it will lead it.

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Response to Student Article: Tapingo Service Fee Concerns Collin Anderson Correspondent The popular food ordering app Tapingo is stealing students' money through multiple methods of on-campus currency.

At the beginning of this semester, some students started to notice that there was a $0.59 "service fee" being added to their total while using the app Tapingo. Most students on meal plans shrugged it off and thought that the meal plan would subsidize it. However, that is when they noticed that, after every time they ordered, the $0.59 would come out of their Sodexo Bucks balance allocated to them at the beginning of every semester.

Excluding buying anything else with Sodexo Bucks and depending on which plan you have, this means your balance would be gone after either 169 or 338 orders. Students with meal plans are not the only ones affected by this.

The school and Sodexo promote how paying with Dining Dollars saves 10% everywhere on campus. This statement is true. However, ordering with Tapingo can negate that fact. To use Tapingo and benefit from the 10% discount of Dining Dollars, one would need to purchase something at least $5.90 to save money.

It was not always like this. Last year, when Tapingo was first introduced to campus, the service fee was nonexistent. "It used to be free, but now it is not, no matter when you downloaded the app," says Spaceflight Operations senior Jaclyn Wiley.

Response from Tapingo

Now, a year after implementation, the ser- Tapingo vice fee is here to stay with many not even knowing what is happening to their money.

Like most service companies, TapTapingo is a great app in theory with ingo charges service fees to cover the the most popular method being used to operating costs of our program and order Starbucks at peak times. That being service at Embry Riddle Aeronautisaid, this service fee being passed off to the cal University. The value of that serstudents without properly being informed vice fee is based on industry norms looks bad on Sodexo considering they and research. At ERAU that service pushed for the app in recent times. "I think fee is $0.59, and this value is consisit's really unfair that the school is making tent with the majority of markets we the students operate in. pay for a In order to service that drive user the school is adoption supposedly and engagepaying for," ment upon says Wiley. launching at Fifty-nine a campus, cents is not a we employ lot, initially, a range of but can stack marketing up over time. techniques The hidden – including fee that studiscounts dents cover and promowith the app tions. Our should be launch perimade apparod varies ent by Sodexo from market and the unito market versity. Time and may last is money, but anywhere with this app, from a few Jaclyn Wiley/The Avion Newspaper you are better weeks to a off waiting year. GenAn actual receipt from a student that displays the service fee which is added onto Tapingo transactions. in line. erally, at least

two weeks before we plan on introducing service fees, we implement a "fee-free period."

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At Embry-Riddle, the fee discount period ended on 9/24/17, and we introduced fees on 9/25

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This article is being rerun from Issue 8

During this period, we communicate a temporary discount on our normal fees, so that users can try Tapingo at no risk.

At Embry-Riddle, the fee discount period ended on 9/24/17, and we introduced fees on 9/25.

This fee discount is clearly displayed to users in the order checkout screen within the app. During this fee discount period, there's an "i" (information) tag next to the service fee line that users can tap for more information.

When this is tapped, a message appears that reads "Take advantage of our intro free period, limited time only!"

Once this fee discount period ends, the discount no longer appears, and users can see on their checkout screen the Subtotal of their order, the Service fee charge, the Tax amount, and the order's Grand Total, all before hitting "Tap to Pay." Per our agreement with Sodexo, at ERAU students can use their Credit Card, Eagle Dollars, Dining Dollars, or Sodexo Bucks to pay for service fees.

Poem Submissions

The Avion Newspaper has accepted multiple poetic submissions to promote creativity and free discourse on campus about sometimes sensitive topics

“NIGHT SKY HIGH”

“Fatal Flaw”

Dr. James G. Shoopman Associate Professor

Mike Potash ERAU Staff

A lifetime ritual Bequeathed to few generations before me – An eternity in the past of quiet skies, Dotted in the past only by the quiet things that fly – Pelicans and cardinals, Bees and other bugs.

But tonight, in my driveway, Blinking like a June-bug up above, In the quiet of the after dark shrouding, I hear what I have heard since childhood, The drone of a pilot’s night time plane.

What fierce urgency propels an un-winged human, Not quite faster than a speeding bullet through the black, Too high to take a ladder to the earth?

Willfully they risk their lives, To make up for the time they lose in travel on the ground.

I look up, as I have done since childhood, Still not yet quite used to it, Still not yet taking any part of it for granted – I gaze mesmerized as always, in material amazement, To watch the lights and listen to the quiet, steady drone, Until it passes out of sight and hearing, A star above with a human face, A meteor that sports a human mind.

Blood and horror Tears and tragedy Condolences and prayers Candles and vigils Deafening silence Not from the dead But the living Strange religion this…

Unwavering faith and unrelenting fear Commitment to life and the means of its destruction Can we talk about it? Can we?

Where next?

A church?

A school?

My child?

Your child?

Culture wars my ass!

Grow up – will you!?

It’s the guns.

Say it! Say it! Say it!

Damn you!

Photo Courtesy: Justin Metz/ Popular Mechanics

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Key West Centennial of Naval Aviation Key West, FL December 7, 2017

• Celebrates 100 years of Naval Aviation which began with seaplanes and blimps at Trumbo Point in December 1917. The Custom House will host a free Naval Aviation display and Sailors and Aviators will be on hand to honor this Key West milestone. _________

US Sport Aviation Expo Sebring, FL January 24-27, 2018

• The 14th annual Sport Aviation Show features sport aircraft, and includes conventional aircraft, kit planes, powered parachutes, trikes, gyros, amphibians, drones and innovative designs such as electrically powered aircraft—over 150 aircraft on display. _________

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Plant City, FL February 24, 2018 • An aerobatic airshow including a concert and outdoor movies, aircraft displays, vintage aircraft fly-bys, helicopter rides, train rides for kids, an exotic car show and sky divers. _________

No Road(ster)s In Space? Think Again

Samantha Stirmel Staff Reporter

Elon Musk, renowned founder and CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX Aerospace Company, will be sacrificing his own car in 2018. Musk will be blasting his “midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity” as the payload on the first flight of the Falcon Heavy. This comes after two tweets on Twitter from the famous CEO that claimed that the Falcon Heavy is to launch next month from the Apollo 11 pad at Cape Canaveral. It will “have double thrust of next largest rocket,” and it is “Guaranteed to be exciting, one way or another.”

Next, he stated that he will be sending his car and that the “Destination is Mars orbit,” touching on how the rocket “will be in deep space for a billion years or

December 5, 1921

The first regular air services in Australia commence, with West Australian Airways.

December 6, 1959

Flying a McDonnell F4 H-1 Phantom II, by Navy Commander Lawrence E. Flint sets a new world altitude record of 98,556 feet (30,040 m) in Operation Top Flight.

December 7, 1980

Pan Am’s Boeing 747, the China Clipper, arrives from JFK International Airport in New York, to Beijing, after a stop in Tokyo. It marks the first time since 1949 that a commercial flight between the United States and mainland China is completed.

December 8, 2006

First flight of the Boeing X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing.

December 9, 2002

United Airlines files for Chapter 11 reorganization, the largest airline bankruptcy in US history.

December 10, 2004

The United States Federal Aviation Administration issues an Emergency Airworthiness Directive effectively grounding the entire U. S. fleet of Beechcraft T-34 Mentor aircraft. The AD is in response to fatal in-flight structural failure accidents during simulated aerial combat flights

so if it doesn’t blow up on ascent.”

The tables keep turning back and forth since this was released December 1. Various news outlets have been getting conflicting reports whether this car will be launched into space from talking to Musk directly, SpaceX’s communications department, and people working in the company.

However, the odds are good, as Musk has a habit of sending ridiculous things into space.

The launch of his first Dragon Capsule on the Falcon 9 in December 2010 had a whole wheel of parmesan cheese on board. To prove they can launch a payload, companies must send a dummy payload; NASA’s payload of choice, for instance, is concrete. However, with past failures in some of SpaceX’s past launches, Musk is on the record addressing the fact that there is a chance that it could blow

up. The hope is that the Falcon Heavy will be safely launched into space and will be put into orbit around Mars.

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The power of the rocket and the increased space allows for larger payloads, like a car, to be shot to the moon or even Mars one day.

So far, the Falcon Heavy is predicted to launch in January 2018, but the original timeline that Musk gave for this rocket was 2013-14. In the simplest terms the Falcon Heavy is three Falcon 9 rockets strapped to each other. SpaceX plans to be able to recover all three of these, but it is not clear whether they will be doing this on the first

flight of the rocket.

The power of the rocket and the increased space allows for larger payloads, like a car, to be shot to the moon or even Mars one day. SpaceX hopes this means that they will be able to soon send people to space according to their timeline of getting people to the moon by 2024.

If this launch is a success, it might be another step in the direction of BFR progress. For those who think that getting to a Falcon Heavy launch isn’t important, it actually might be.

During the International Astronautical Conference, Musk explained that the BFR has been laid out in a way that the rocket will be able to fulfill the jobs of the Falcon Heavy, Falcon 9, and Dragon rockets. The Falcon Heavy may result in being a filler until the BFR is finally completed and can take over all launches.

Opinion: Obsolete Pilots Henry Neiberlien Editor-in-Chief

This Week in Aviation History

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The pilot shortage is real. The airlines, and even the United States Air Force, are desperately trying to put pilots in cockpits.

This has lead to the Air Force considering pulling fighter pilots out of retirement and the FAA has already raised the retirement age for pilots to prevent a mass exodus from the airline sector. While this is great news for those who are about to become airline pilots, the pilot shortage is not going to be solved by a mass hiring of pilots.

An annual forecast released

by Boeing revealed that there will be 41,000 new airliners purchased between 2017 and 2036, and this would mean airlines would need to find and train 637,000 new pilots to fly them.

Well, this might seem promising but I can assure you that the airlines will not be hiring that many pilots in the near future. In fact, the will probably not be hiring pilots at all after 2025.

Modern airliners process advanced fly by wire technology, and this automation is used from wheels up to wheels down on most routine airline flights. This means pilots only take the controls only a short time during the flight. It will not take that much of an advance in technology to fully replace the pilot, and this technology will be achieved in less than a decade. I know what you’re thinking, there is no way anyone would fly on a pilotless plane and regulations ensure two pilots at all

times in the cockpit.

However, a little thing called money will change everything.

Salaries in the United States are on the rise and if the airlines don't have to pay pilots anymore the industry could $35 billion, and this would lead to cheaper tickets, safer flying, and fewer cancellations.

Computers don't have families, computers don't get tires, computers don't make bad decisions, they only do what they are programmed to and after over thirty years of fly by wire technology aircraft are at the point to achieve full automation. If that much money can be saved then companies will lobby and remove the regulations on pilots in the cockpit, but what about public opinion?

While currently, very little people would be willing to fly on unmanned airliners, according to a survey of 8,000 people

by UBS analysts only 17% would be willing to fly on a pilotless flight.

However, this opinion is ready to flip drastically thanks to driverless cars.

When driverless technology becomes fully operational in the next few years consumers will begin to trust automated trans-

portation, especially since you're more likely to die in a car crash than an aircraft accident. At this point, public opinion is the only thing holding back an unmanned future for commercial aviation.

In fact, Airbus has already begun work converting and testing fully autonomous systems for their aircraft and cargo companies like FedEx and UPS will probably take advantage of this technology first as a cost-saving measure and the fact that cargo doesn't care who is flying.

Becoming a pilot is more expensive than ever for a civilian and you will not see a return on that investment for more than twenty years after the start of your career.

Now that there may not even be a career for airline pilots in twenty years it may accelerate this transi-

tion as less and fewer pilots pursue airliners and instead pursue corporate or other commercial work.

I can hear you getting upset with this future and I myself am not a UAS major and I also am a pilot myself so I do not want to see this future come to fruition.

However, even though this is not future we want it may indeed be the future we get and it's already happening around us with drone delivery systems and unmanned aerial taxis. We can yell, scream, and try and prevent this future but money is money and the industry will follow it. We either continue pursuing our careers till this future is upon us or read the writing on the wall and develop skills no computer can replace. Aviation jobs, like all jobs, are not immune to an automation takeover.

Space

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Delta II Launches Five CubeSats and JPSS-1

Michael Weinhoffer Staff Reporter

On Nov. 18, a clear and cold night, the legendary Delta II rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in southern California, carrying the JPSS-1 satellite for NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and five CubeSats. This was the second-to-last flight of the Delta II, which has been launching payloads with a very high success rate since 1989 and is a true workhorse of a launch vehicle.

After two launch scrubs due to range violations and high winds, the Delta II launched at 4:47 EST on Nov. 18. The rocket performed four-second stage burns to correct its orbit, launch JPSS-1, launch the five CubeSats, and de-orbit. As of Nov. 22, all six satellites are operational.

Launched by ULA, the aquamarine Delta II is the oldest member of ULA's rocket family, along with the Delta IV and Atlas V. Because of its reliability, NASA has entrusted it with many Earth observation satellites and several interplanetary probes. Its top payloads included the Spitzer Space Telescope, Dawn, GRAIL, the Spirit and Opportunity Mars Rovers and six Mars spacecraft.

Its final flight is scheduled for late next year, where it will be entrusted to deliver the IceSat-2 satellite into orbit, which will provide critical data on the Antarctic ice sheet. During its lifespan, there has been one launch failure and numerous successes. All space enthusiasts will sorely miss the Delta II's aquamarine paint job and unprecedented reliability.

The primary payload for this mission was the JPSS-1 weather satellite, which will orbit over the north and south poles and complement the geostation-

Orbital ATK Continued from A1 >> The first question to be addressed was whether the court even had authority to rule in Orbital ATK's favor. The court determined that since the lawsuit was brought against the program specifically, and not DARPA itself, it did not have the appropriate authority.

This decision was based on previous court rulings that determined that the court did not have jurisdiction if a government agency program is challenged by the plaintiff. Because of this technicality, Orbital ATK's motion was dismissed. Despite this, the court addressed the second question presented just to provide a complete analysis.

The majority of the opinion document discusses whether the

ary satellites of NOAA. JPSS-1 is the first of four new, though long delayed, satellites that take weather-forecasting for the U.S. to the next level.

These satellites will help improve the accuracy of weather predictions and provide more time for the public to prepare for a big storm. Each satellite is expected to operate for at least seven years, and they carry a suite of instruments to get the job done. Among these are visible and infrared light imagers, an Earth-emitted radiation detector, atmospheric sensors and an ozone layer analyzer.

JPSS-1 is equipped with the latest meteorological technologies and will serve as an essential partner to the geostationary satellites of NOAA. Five cube-shaped satellites, commonly referred to as CubeSats, also hitched a ride to space on-board the second stage of the Delta II. Four of the five satellites made up the fourteenth mission of NASA's Educational Launch of Nano-satellites pro-

gram (ELaNa), which has provided numerous opportunities for universities to launch their experiments into outer space and conduct meaningful research. The CubeSats launched on the JPSS-1 mission are studying the effects of radiation, how 3D printing polymers are affected by space and experimental GPS technology.

The final satellite is a technology demonstration for Australia's space research program.

It is worth noting that one of the CubeSats, EagleSat, was designed by students at the Prescott campus of Embry-Riddle! The students are researching the effects of radiation on solid-state storage drives, and also will be tracking the orbital decay of the spacecraft with a GPS receiver. EagleSat is the first satellite launched into space by Embry-Riddle, and it is a massive accomplishment for the university, as we have finally entered the ever-expanding CubeSat market.

Even better, more CubeSats are on the way! The Prescott campus is already developing EagleSat-2.

And at the Daytona campus, the

Spacecraft Development Club is developing RADSat, which will serve as a bus for a miniaturized radiation monitor delivered by the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Testing of the spacecraft's components will begin next semester, and launch is not far away.

Fortunately, this was not the last Delta II launch – more excitement is on the way next year. The Delta II, while old, has proven to be a real workhorse and has been trusted to deliver the most expensive payloads.

Two of next year's high-profile NASA missions (InSight and the Parker Solar Probe) will be launched by ULA vehicles. It is clear that what NASA craves is vehicle reliability for its flagship missions, and ULA and the Delta II has provided over and over again.

The JPSS-1 satellite and the hitchhiking CubeSats took a ride on one of the best rockets around, and yet another successful mission is under the Delta II's belt.

Launch Control Center Alcomsat 1 - Long March 3B December 11 @ TBD Xichang, China

Galileo 19-22 - Ariane 5 December 12 @ 1336 EST Kourou, French Guiana ELA-3

NROL-47 - Delta 4

December 13 @ TBD Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC-6

ISS 53S - Soyuz

December 17 @ 0220 EST Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan Iridium Next 31-40 - Falcon 9 December 22 @ 2026 EST Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC-4E

GCOM-C & SLATS - H-2A December 22 @ 2026 EST Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

ISS Sightings There are no ISS sightings during the next two weeks.

This Week in Space History December 5, 1978

Image Courtesy: NASA An artistic rendering of JPSS-1 in orbit. JPSS-1 is a weather satellite that is part of the Joint Polar Satellite System, operated by NOAA.

2010 NSP has the force of law.

The NSP was officially a called a "Presidential Policy Directive" under President Obama.

While directives such as the NSP are similar to executive orders, which can be issued by the President without consultation with Congress, they do not always have the force of law. It is not accurate to say that directives always have the force of law; it depends on the intention of the President to make it have the force of law.

The court concluded that because there was no indication

by President Obama that he wanted to make the NSP a law and that no actions were taken by Congress to make the NSP a law, it does not have the force of law. Unlike executive orders, which are essentially substitutes of bills, policy directives are similar to a memorandum, which advices rather than

orders. The NSP was directed at executive agencies such as NASA, the FAA, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and not to the American public.

DARPA did go against the directives in the NSP by developing a government space program very similar to a commercial space program, and it may affect investments in the MEV program. But since the directive cannot be enforced by any court in the U.S., the RSGS program was permitted to continue development, and Orbital ATK's lawsuit was dismissed.

Both the RSGS and the MEV programs are still under development, and the first MEV vehicle will be launched in late 2018. Both programs will be in direct competition with each other in orbit, which is something that has not been seen before in the space sector.

One of the purposes of the NSP is to promote commercial space activities and prevent the government from stifling private competition. Although DARPA has gone against this principle, it does not compromise the validity of the program. It will be very interesting to see which program is more successful in achieving its goals and servicing large geostationary satellites.

Although DARPA is working with a private company in building the spacecraft, they should be more respondent to competitors' positions in the future. The two programs are strikingly similar, and unfortunately, will be representative of the everyday fight between the government and the private sector. While the programs promise to demonstrate new capabilities, the morality of their competitive nature must be questioned.

The Defense Systems Acquisition Review Council II (DSARC II) for Missile X was held. The DSARC asked the Air Force to conduct an intensive study of an air-mobile basing system.

December 7, 1972

Apollo 17 launches from LC39A at Kennedy Space Center.

Apollo 17 was the last crewed mission to Moon.

December 7, 1968

OAO 2 launched by Atlas from Cape Canaveral. First successful launch of a standardized spacecraft, designed to carry astronomical instruments.

December 11, 1998

Mars Climate Orbiter launched on a Delta 2 from Cape Canaveral at 1:45 p.m. EST. A failure to convert English and metric units caused the spacecraft to approach Mars too closely and burn up in the atmosphere.

December 12, 1962

Apollo spacecraft systems modifications to achieve a 100day Earth- orbital capability.

December 12, 1965

Gemini 6 launch aborted after abrupt engine shutdown.

Vipul Telang/The Avion Newspaper

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MOTORSPORTS

Upcoming Races: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NEXTERA ENERGY 250 Daytona International Speedway Feb. 16, 2018 TBD

NASCAR XFINITY Series POWERSHARES QQQ 300 Daytona International Speedway Feb. 17, 2018 TBD

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Advanced Auto Parts Clash Daytona International Speedway Feb. 11, at 3:00 p.m. ET

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Bell Wins First Truck Title Rajan Khanna Staff Reporter Christopher Bell took victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway with non-playoff contender Chase Briscoe taking the win. Briscoe finally won his first race after many strong finishes and dominant runs.

He was the center of a controversial finish at the WinStar Online Gaming 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Christopher Bell was declared the winner after video evidence showed he was ahead when the race-ending caution was displayed but many people were in denial on the results.

Briscoe did make the playoffs based on his point standing but was eliminated. Briscoe redeemed his season by taking the win at Homestead-Miami Speedway after starting on pole position. Briscoe was also named Sunoco Rookie of the Year for 2017.

Unfortunately, the truck series lost

the team Briscoe and his teammate Austin Cindric drove for, as Brad Keselowski Racing closed its doors when the season concluded. They are both expected to gain valuable seat time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series on Roush-Fenway Racing and Team Penske. Christopher Bell crossed the finish line second and won the title. Bell had an amazing season and won five races. Bell was the obvious favorite for the title since he drove the number 4 truck fielded by Kyle Busch Motorsports.

KBM is known for building the best trucks on the track and are always a threat to win. With his great performance this season, including a win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Bell will drive the number 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing full time in 2018. He will be joined by Brandon Jones who will drive the number 19 car. Ryan Preece will drive the number 18 car and share seattime with various Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers.

Photo Courtesy: Associated Press

Byron Gets Redemption in Miami Rajan Khanna Staff Reporter

FIA Formula 1 World Championship Formula 1 Rolex Austrailian Grand Prix Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit Mar. 25, at 12:00 a.m. ET

FIA Formula E Championship 2018 Marrakesh E-Prix

Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan Jan. 13, 2018 TBD Photo Courtesy: NASCAR

The NASCAR XFINITY Series saw William Byron get redemption for the heartbreak he experienced last year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Bryon experienced a mechanical failure in the penultimate race of the season and did not advance to the final round of the Playoffs (then called The Chase). This year, Byron used that as momentum to ensure his victory.

He and his teammate, Elliott Sadler, battled intensely in the final laps of the race for the championship position. Sadler ended up behind Ryan Preece and could not get around him to catch Bryon. Byron ran away with second place and scored the championship. He started the season slowly but was able to hit a stride and win five races and the championship in

his rookie season. He is destined to become a NASCAR legends such as Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, and Richard Petty. Byron also won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award for 2017. He will get his chance at the 2018 championship in the number 24 car for Hendrick Motorsports while Chase Elliott will move to the number 9 car. The champion was William Byron but the race winner was Cole Custer, who also got his first win in the final race. Custer was a rookie driving for the brand-new XFINITY program at Stewart-Haas Racing. His season was quite slow until the finale where he dominated most of the race and took the victory easily. He is expected to drive the number 00 car next season for Stewart-Haas Racing with a new teammate, as they will field the number 98 car. The car is expected to be driven by Kevin Harvick part-time next season.

Truex Jr. Takes Emotional Victory WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Rolex 24 at Daytona Daytona International Speedway Jan. 27, 2018 TBD

Verizon IndyCar Series Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Streets of St. Petersburg Mar. 11, 2018 TBD

Rajan Khanna Staff Reporter The NASCAR Playoffs get criticized for adding far too much chance to the championship hunt, but some drivers become so dominant that the chance is mitigated. Martin Truex Jr. won so many stages and races in the regular season that he was able to advance to the final round on playoff points only. He could have taken a ninerace break and put his full focus on only Homestead-Miami, but he did not. He picked up four wins in that period alone. He concluded the season with eight wins and the well-deserved championship. He was criticized by fans for being so dominant, with many accusing him and Toyota of cheating. Toyota was also under scrutiny by Brad Keselowski, who thought Toyota had a massive advantage and no one else had a chance at

the title: “You know, with that said, I don't think anyone ever had a shot this year the second that thing got put on the racetrack and approved. It kind of felt like Formula 1 where you had one car that made it through the gates, heads and tails above everyone, and your hands are tied because you're not allowed to do anything to the cars in those categories that NASCAR approves to really catch up.� Keselowski was vocal about his suspicions throughout the season but NASCAR did not find anything giving Toyota, as a whole, a game-breaking advantage. Truex will once again hunt for the title next season as Furniture Row Racing returns back to a single-car team. Erik Jones will move from the number 77 car to the number 20 car, replacing Matt Kenseth.

Truex will be sure to dominate next season as all the resources can be put into only his car.

Photo Courtesy: Associated Press

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Bottas Wins F1 Season Finale

Vipul Telang Photo Editor

As the sun set and the lights illuminated the Yas Marina circuit, Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas held off teammate Lewis Hamilton to winthe Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and close out the2017 Formula One season. Bottas, who took pole on Saturday, avoided giving up the lead as he did in Brazil and led all 55 laps around the 5.5 km circuit.

It wasn’t the most exciting race of the season, but Hamilton got the crowd excited as closed the gap and filled the mirrors of his Finnish teammate with just a few laps to go. Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel finished in a distant third, some 15 seconds off the race pace. Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo was the first retirement of the race, ending his season prematurely on lap 21 after a suspected

power steering failure.

Yas Marina Circuit is a purpose-built circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, which saw its first race in November 2009. The 21-turn track is built on Yas Island and weaves its way around the marina and Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi Hotel.

The best battle during the race happened in the midfield, as Felipe Massa held off Romain Grosjean in his final race of his Formula One career. After the race, Massa joined the Mercedes drivers in doing donuts on his slow-down lap.

The 2018 Formula One season will start back up in Melbourne, Australia, in mid-March.

Ryan Joseph Ramos/BenzInsider

Is Project CARS 2 Still a Project?

Rajan Khanna and Vipul Telang Staff Reporter, Photo Editor 2017 was a year littered with racing video games. Many were just editions in a series where nothing major was changed and only a few cars were added. Project Cars 2 was expected to be just another boring sequel that did not add much to the prior title. It completely blew the expectations away. Although it is marketed as a racing game, it does not handle like one.

The developers set out to create an accurate driving simulator, and they accomplished it very well. However, the game is only meant for serious racers, and casual gamers will not have a good experience with the game.

Rajan’s opinion, driving with a wheel.

I raced three specific scenarios to test most of the game. The game was touted as the official game of INDYCAR, so I raced Will Power’s number 12 INDYCAR on Texas Motor Speedway. Initially, the car handled so poorly I considered uninstalling the game, but after a while of experimentation, I was able to get the setup of the car to handle the challenging oval well.

They include a useful “Race-Engineer” interface where the player can choose options on how the car handles and then correct it with guidance. The feature proved useful throughout every session I raced. The force feedback provided in the game was very strong even with my lower end Thrustmaster T150 racing

Rajan Khanna/The Avion Newspaper

wheel. INDYProject CARs, I wanted to test out rally cars.

I chose the Honda Civic rallycross car on Daytona International Speedway. The track was accurately depicted in the game and proved to be an enjoyable experience even without any setup. The car slides and handles just as anyone would expect it and does not have much of a learning curve.

Although they are easy to drive, they are hard

CARS 2

to master. The transitions between different racing surfaces are easily noticeable. The car shakes much more when going from asphalt to dirt and becomes much freer.

The wheel vibrates violently just as it would in real life. Overall, rallycross was very well done and is quite fun. The final scenario I played was the Ford Fusion stock car on Watkins Glen International. In the prior title, stock

cars handled poorly and did not feel like a real car. In Project Cars 2, the cars handle much better. They feel heavy, steering is very direct, and the power delivery feels linear and satisfying. I found myself taking the “Esses” section faster than I have in any other racing game, iRacing included. The bus stop section felt very good as well. The car slid into the corners and was easy to catch before it spun.

The whole experience was great and one of the best stock car experiences I have had in a video game. The experience with a wheel was overall very good but with a controller, the experience was extremely different.

Vipul’s opinion, driving with an Xbox One controller: When I played on a controller, however, the game felt so much different, and not in a good way. The steering lacked the proper inputs, and the car felt super sensitive. It reminded me a lot of the first iteration of Project Cars, which was heavily criticized as being non-controller friendly. Although the graphics looked great on the Xbox One, the handling was slippery, and after driving out of a turn the car was nearly impossible to control. I found myself glumly driving out of the grass or gravel in last place in more than one occasion. In fact, I only had the game for a few hours before I got frustrated and went back to Forza Motorsports 7. Until Project Cars can figure out their dismal handling, I’ll stick to my Forza series.

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Food Adventure: Zen Bistro

Alessia Ames Correspondent

The food adventure of the week was to the Zen Bistro that serves authentic Thai cuisines. The Embry-Riddle parking situation is crazy, but it is just as bad, if not worse, at the bistro. Located on Magnolia Avenue, the establishment is required to share parking spots with all the other buildings around it.

When approaching the restaurant, you walk through the outside portion that you can sit at, which is only lit by torches and is very relaxing. The soft instrumental music played is soothing. The music is played softly, allowing for conversations without

having to yell to talk over the noise. The color scheme is natural and comforting both outside and inside. When walking to the front desk to be seated, you can ask to sit outside or just ask for takeout.

For this trip, my adventure assistant and I sat inside, loving the dim lighting and the Himalayan salt lamp on the front counter. This trip was the same as any other adventure to this bistro: a server with a sweet smile and being attended to occasionally.

I ordered water with lemon, which influenced my friend to get the same.

When they brought out the water, they also gave us a refillable water jug, that way we could use to refill our glasses when

we need. The restaurant was busy when we arrived, which foreshadowed a bit of a wait, which was not all that bad. It was roughly a 15-minute wait, and we had the server even walk by apologizing for the delay and reassuring that the food was on its way. The wait was worth every second.

Going to a Thai bistro, I decided to order from the portion of the menu titled ‘Thai Noodles' and got the Pad Thai with chicken and medium heat. With any meal you order, they ask you what kind of heat level you would like, mild, medium, hot or Thai hot. The noodles were cooked perfectly, and the sauce was extremely flavorful. My goodness, the combination was heavenly. My friend is Korean and

ordered the fried rice with chicken at Thai hot. She told me that it was amazing, she loved the flavors. She loves dangerously spicy foods, so the Thai hot was what she wanted. We have decided to go there once a month now as a trip to get away.

Overall, given the atmosphere, the service, the food and the wait, I would rate Zen Bistro 5 out of 5 Avions. The feeling of being at ease starts as you walk into the establishment and does not go away until you do. Considering the ability to customize your food with everything cooked in-house, the welcoming servers, the amazing flavor and even the price, you feel like you are truly getting your money's worth given the portion sizes.

“Wonder”: An Uplifting Family Tale Victoria Jordan Staff Reporter

Wonder

"Wonder" follows the life of August Pullman (Jacob Tremblay), a boy who has lived his life with a facial disfigurement, as he is immersed within the realm of public school to start fifth grade after spending his time being homeschooled by his mother Isabel Pullman (Julia Roberts). The film was directed by Stephen Chbosky who is also known for directing the films "Perks of a Being a Wallflower" and "Beauty and the Beast." It also stars Owen Wilson as Nate Pullman and Izabela Vidovic as Olivia Pullman.

The film is an adaptation of the novel "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio which was published in 2012 and has been recognized with many awards such as the Mark Twain Award and Junior Young Reader's Choice Award. Palacio states that she wrote the book after seeing a young child with a facial deformity at an ice cream shop with her son. Based on her reactions at that moment, she felt the book would give its

readers the valuable life lessons that you should never judge a book by its cover and that real beauty is found within.

As a film, "Wonder" expressed themes of self-appreciation, acceptance and inspiration as August overcomes the adversities that society projects onto individuals like him who are not considered a part of the "norm." Even if nothing life-altering has happened to you or if you feel as though you do not stand out as much, the film still emphasizes that those individuals matter as well.

In addition to the lesson of acceptance, it also highlights the importance of communication, in which we must communicate to others how we feel, what we feel, and our feelings toward one another without shutting each other out of our lives. "Wonder" is a heart-warming film that is perfect to watch over the winter break with your family.

Take in all the themes that the film is trying to teach to the audience and reflect on what you have done or would have done within those scenarios.

Daytona Speedway Lights Up the Holidays Samantha Stirmel Staff Reporter With a 1.5-mile path under and around the speedway, Daytona International Speedway participated in the Magic of Lights display by FunGuys Events. This event during the 2017 holiday season incorporates 7 cities in total, the Auto Club Speedway in California, Jones Beach State Park in New York, Gateway Motorsports Park in Illinois, Victory Park in Ohio, Castrol Raceway in Alberta, and Wesley Clover Parks in Ontario. Each of the Magic of Lights shows took about 10 miles of steel to complete all the displays holding the ten miles of LED lights. Ten different LED colors were displayed this year in the 725 frames present throughout the never before seen lights show. The concept design and carrying out of the Magic of Lights show was made in a factory in Illinois requiring 45,000 hours in total of work to get everything done for the season.

The Magic of Lights display at the Daytona International Speedway during the 2017 season was just that, magical. The impressive scenes ranging from 30 feet high to several hundred feet long include an illuminated satellite, Santa on a motor-

cycle flipping between ramps, the 12 Days of Christmas, and even a 200-foot-long Enchanted Tunnel of Lights. One can tell just how much time this all took and commend the full-time crew of ten that took months to put the entire display together.

When entering the Magic of Lights display and getting our tickets scanned, we were told that there was a radio station we could turn to in our vehicle to listen to Christmas Music throughout the drive.

However, when flipping to the radio station we were told about (107.9 FM), all we heard was static. Not knocking the immense amount of work, time, and lighting that came together to make The Magic of Lights, we noticed that there were many blank spaces throughout the drive. Everything was very spread out and it could have been condensed some more to make a continuous visual experience that captured the audience’s attention from beginning to end.

The inventive use of the lights made for some of the most amazing displays we have ever seen and at most places whether you looked up, down, or on the sides there was something to see. All-in-all, it was a great drive through a winter wonderland with dazzling colors speckling our vision.

The first annual Magic of Lights show

runs from dusk until 10 pm, mid-November until the end of December. Most cars are $20 in advance or $25 at the gate, oversized vehicles are $40 in advance or $50 at the

gate. If you are already planning for next year, keep your eyes peeled during the first few weeks of November for early bird tickets for the event.

Collin Anderson/The Avion Newspaper A LED Santa Claus waves at passing cars enjoying the first annual Magic of Lights at Daytona Speedway.

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Cuckoo for Disney’s “Coco”

Levi Duncan Correspondent

I am always amazed at how consistently great Pixar is. I have seen every Pixar movie there is outside of "The Good Dinosaur," and in my opinion, the only bad movie they have made is "Cars 2." They constantly produce new and exciting worlds and produce highly compelling stories that tug at your heartstrings. With "Coco," they have produced yet another great coming of age story mostly set in a brand-new world: the next one.

Before I get into the movie itself, I should add one note on the movie-going experience. One often-charming aspect of new Pixar movies is the short film they play each movie. They are often 5-10 minute films that tell a concise story and often range from decent to really great. So, when I went to see this movie I was completely caught off guard by the 22-minute slog that is "Olaf 's Frozen Adventure." It was torture. I loved "Frozen," but wow was this annoying and bad. Please see "Coco," but show up 30 minutes late.

Twenty minutes of previews followed by 22 minutes of Olaf quips and seven songs were not the best primer for "Coco."

The movie "Coco" follows a young boy named Miguel. He is an aspiring musician and worships "the greatest musician

who ever lived," the late Ernesto De La Cruz. His dream of becoming a musician is complicated by the fact that his family has made music taboo for nearly 80 years.

This is because Miguel's great-grandmother, the titular Coco, was abandoned by her father to become a musician. This causes tension within the family, and it all comes to a head when his grandmother breaks his guitar, driving him to run away. When he tries to steal Ernesto's legendary guitar, he is trapped in the afterlife, cursed but alive. The rest of the plot follows Miguel as he travels with his guide Héctor to find Ernesto in the afterlife so he can return home. Along the way, he learns a lot of lessons about family, life, death and himself.

He also learns a lesson that we all should never meet our heroes.

Overall, it was a great movie. The music was good, the animation was beautiful, and the story was good. The trope of the person you are traveling with and forming a relationship with turning out to be a secret is fairly telegraphed but remains compelling. It is a trope done in stories such as “Kubo and the Two Strings” and “Eragon”. The movie was not as emotionally moving as "Inside Out" or "Up," but there were still plenty of moving moments. It was a rock-solid movie that has very few holes in it.

One of the most interesting similarities

in the Pixar films is who they choose to make their villains. They are not truly evil villains, but they are real ones. In 2017, these are the villains that we have been discovering in our own lives, with an almost overwhelming occurrence.

It is certainly interesting that Pixar has been telling stories about these types of villains for so long.

Pixar has made it a gimmick to tell unexpected stories in settings and perspectives we have never seen before. The stories of living cars, living toys, sentient bugs, sentient rats, etc.

What "Coco" does is something both similar and different. Instead of showing us a world they made up that we never see on screen, they show us one that exists that is rarely seen on screen. Historically, in film, Hispanic stories have been underrepresented, and this Pixar movie tells us a compelling story while also informing us more about another culture that exists in our real world. It makes for just as compelling a story as talking

COCO

robots, and it is a welcome new perspective.

Perhaps this is the new frontier in animated film storytelling, with the Pixar/Disney telling new stories from cultures from around the world with "Moana" and "Coco."

If they are anything like "Coco," then I am looking forward to it.

Star Wars Battlefront II Review Peter Vane Correspondent Amongst the huge controversy between Electronic Arts and the Battlefront community, I definitely enjoy "Star Wars Battlefront II." Even though many players are choosing to boycott the game due to the loot boxes, micro-transactions and the high costs to unlock characters, I decided to take the plunge and buy the game. Overall, I am very glad that I did.

The biggest addition from 2015's "Star Wars Battlefront" is the single-player campaign. It is entertaining enough to play for its short four hours, even though it has a handful of issues.

The few main characters were fascinating to me, especially the protagonist, Iden Versio, played by Janina Gavankar.

The cut scenes actually feel like a Star Wars movie, and this is beneficial considering how this new story is canon to

the Star Wars universe. The only problem is that the campaign quickly loses sight of its goal and the player ends up hopping across the galaxy completing random missions.

The arcade mode is fun enough for a couple of hours. It comes into the spotlight with the split-screen option. My friends always love to go head to head as their favorite heroes.

Another cool feature is how customizable these matches are. You can either have a duel with only two players or a full-on multiplayer match filled with bots. Other than that, there is nothing much more to it.

The main selling point of the game is the multiplayer aspects. It comes with five different multiplayer modes, with the most important being galactic assault. I personally love playing it. The graphics are absolutely unbelievable, and the developers got the scale done right. The battle cards are

a source of major controversy, considering how it is a gamble if a player gets the right upgrades for his favorite class, but all these upgrades can be bought using crafting parts earned in game. The new battle points aspect makes it fun to save up to buy vehicles, starfighters, and heroes.

However, there is no way to pick the next map which would have been a super fun feature.

Overall, "Star Wars Battlefront II" is a jack of all trades and a master of none. It is a very entertaining game to play casually, but it lacks the elements to be a game where you could invest tons of time.

Star Wars Battlefront II

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