Avion Issue 12 Spring 2018

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Issue 12 | Volume 149 | April 24th

Find us on social media!

A: Campus Life B: Industry and Technology C: Sports and Motorsports H: Letter From the Editor

theavion.com (386) 226-6049

TESS: Continuing the Search for Extrasolar Planets sion. Ground-based telescopes used this same method on their observations and used it to help validate Kepler’s exoplanet candidates.

With K2, the Kepler mission extension, coming to a close, there came a desire to develop a spacecraft that will continue Kepler’s slew of exoplanet discoveries. Kepler has cataloged over 2000 confirmed exoplanets and added an additional 300 exoplanets over its multi-year extension. This major success drove a team at MIT to develop TESS to continue Kepler’s work, this time taking it to a whole new level. Natalia Guerrero, Deputy TESS Object of Interest Manager at MIT, said that the ball really began rolling on TESS in 2009 when Kepler launched, and a large number of discoveries kept the funds coming in for the project. TESS features four specially designed cameras that will cover an area over 350 times the size of the Kepler search field. A proponent for women in STEM, Guerrero took a moment to voice encouragement for young girls hoping to pursue careers in these fields: “Don’t be afraid to accept any opportunities that may come your way that are related to your interests! If you are unsure, just try it, and see what you think.” Guerrero began working on TESS in 2016 after graduation from MIT. She hopes to become a research scientist for the MIT team, helping probe through the large volume of data that TESS will send down when it passes close to Earth.

TESS is situated in a special elliptical orbit that is synchronized with the orbit of the Moon. TESS will orbit Earth twice for every single orbit the Moon completes. This orbit will take 60 days to reach, as the spacecraft needs to get into phase with the Moon’s orbit and line up for a gravitational assist that will fling it into the transfer orbit needed to reach the primary mission orbit.

This is the first time that this type of orbit has been used for a spacecraft. Kepler was placed in a heliocentric orbit, enabling it to focus on a small patch of sky. This “pencil beam” survey was enough for Kepler to find out whether exoplanets were a rarity or something common. TESS, on the other hand, will be surveying the entire sky. Its unique orbit enables it to monitor a sector of sky continuously for up to 27 days. Every two weeks the spacecraft will make its closest pass over Earth. That is when it sends data down through NASA’s Deep Space Network and relayed to the MIT team through Orbital’s Mission Operations Center. The data largely consists of transit graphs. Teams from NASA, MIT, and the Smithsonian will help comb through the large volume of information. Guerrero also mentioned having the TESS data made public so amateur planet hunters can help sift through the incoming data.

TESS will be producing much more transit information than Kepler, so the more eyes to help look for planet candidates, the faster discoveries can be made. TESS is slated for a two-year primary mission, and with 27 days per sector of the sky and some 26 sectors to cover, that’s only about one month per sector.

Keenan Thungtrakul Senior Reporter On the beautiful Wednesday evening of April 18, SpaceX’s final Falcon 9 Block 4 roared to life at Launch Complex 40. The rocket was carrying none other than NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS. TESS is a joint venture between NASA, Orbital ATK, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, among others. TESS is part of a series of space telescopes designed to search for planets beyond our solar system. This series began with the Hubble Space Telescope and continued with the infrared Spitzer Space Telescope and the Kepler Space Telescope. TESS is the next version up from Kepler and will help lead the way for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and other future planet-hunting missions. The overarching goal of these series of missions is to answer questions that have and are continuing to drive humanity’s quest for the stars, including the iconic question, “are we alone?”

Humans have always wanted to know their place in the universe. They developed technology that allowed them to observe the cosmos and wonder what could be out there. Fast forward several centuries, humans have now developed vehicles that took them to the Moon and Mars.

Currently, humanity is seeking to become a multiplanetary, interstellar species. It is like the ultimate Manifest Destiny, a generations-long quest to explore and colonize space, the “final frontier.”

The Earth is only a temporary home. Although the planet will be around for another few million years, a time will come when the Sun will run out of fuel and consume Earth as it dies. Finding a second Earth to call home is essential if humanity is to have any hope and motivation for expanding into and beyond our solar system. According to Kepler Program Scientist Martin Still, it is this drive that inspired the Kepler mission. The Kepler spacecraft has shown that exoplanets are not rare, but common. TESS will take what Kepler has discovered and reel it back closer to home.

The search for extrasolar planets (also called exoplanets) began with observations by Hubble and ground-based telescopes of occasional wobbles of distant stars. It is theorized that these wobbles are caused by the gravity of a second invisible body tugging on the star. This theory is what led to the discovery of a class of exoplanets known as “hot Jupiters.” Think of a gas giant the size of Jupiter or larger, orbiting its host star within the orbit radius of Mercury. These planets are nowhere close to being able to support life.

Planets that are about the size of Earth are practically impossible to detect via this method, so a new method of detecting exoplanets was proposed: the transit method. The transit method takes light measurements from a star over time and creates a spectral graph with occasional dips.

These dips come from some other body blocking the light from the star. That body could be an exoplanet or another star. The transit method is currently being employed by Kepler and is the method that TESS will be using during its mis-

Continued on B2>>

Collin Anderson, Alex Lee, Keenan Thungtrakul/The Avion Newspaper

This Week’s Waves

Daytona Beach, FL

M 3-5 ft

T

3-4 ft

W

2-3 ft

T

2-3 ft

F

2-3 ft

S

1-2 ft

S

2-3 ft

Campus

Page

A2

The Avion

April

24 2018

TH

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

Henry Neiberlien Collin Anderson Rajan Khanna Samantha Stirmel Vipul Telang Payton Muglia Photo Courtesy: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Page Editors Front Editor Campus Editor Feature Editor I&T Editor Sports Editor Comics Editor Copy Editor

Staff Contributors Reporters Abigail Johnson Keenan Thungtrakul Mike Shekari Victoria Jordan Sarah Fairchild Alessia Ames Michael Weinhoffer

Photographers Alex Lee Keenan Thungtrakul Abigail Johnson Saktiswaran Jeyaganesh

Correspondents Billy Nguyen, Cleo Cho, Hunter Tedrick

Staff Advisor Jessica Murphy, Avion Advisor

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

Piper Aircraft Incident Report

Rajan Khanna Brandon Collins Brandon Collins Brandon Collins Jorja Gwaltney Samantha Stirmel Sarah Fairchild Bradon Collins

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

Website: theavion.com

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.

Mike Shekari Staff Reporter The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report on the accident involving one of Embry-Riddle's Piper Arrows that killed aeronautics senior Zach Capra and FAA-designated pilot examiner John Azma on April 16. Within the report, the NTSB described symptoms of metal fatigue on features of the left main spar and noted no visible corrosion or prior damage. However, the NTSB has retained the wreckage of N106ER for further examination.

Metal fatigue is a weakened condition of metallic components caused by repetitive stresses over a protracted period, which can cause fractures in parts under conditions that would not otherwise cause damage in a single instance. One of the most common causes of metal fatigue in aircraft components is takeoff and landing cycles. However, detecting metal fatigue before it causes an accident is not an easy task. Determining the presence and extent of metal fatigue through standard visual inspections is not possible unless significant cracks or fractures have already developed. Typically, non-destructive testing (NDT) methods must be used to determine the presence of metal fatigue. NDT ranges from simple procedures like listening to the sound made by taping on the metal and dye penetrants, to using advanced diagnostic equipment such as magnetic particle, ultrasound, and x-ray machines. Taping and dye penetrant methods are the most common forms of NDT employed by general aviation shops. However, they are not as effective as other methods that employ diagnostic equipment, but techniques such as ultrasonic and x-ray inspections require extensive training and equipment that most aviation maintenance technicians do not possess.

Metal fatigue has played a factor in many other aviation accidents, one of the most notable being the explosive decompression of Aloha Airlines Flight 243, which killed a flight attendant who was sucked from the airplane.

Metal fatigue is also being suspected of causing the catastrophic uncontained engine failure on Southwest Flight 1380 on April 17.

However, Piper's PA-28 line of aircraft has been the subject of successive airworthiness concerns due to structural issues. Several of the issues can cause structural breakup and unrecoverable loss of control in flight.

One of the more recent issues was initially reported through an FAA airworthiness directive in Oct. 2015. The right-wing rib at station 140.9, which is located approximately two thirds away from the wing root, was discovered to have cracks in their bend radii, particularly in the area shared between the stiffening bead and web of the rib, on three different variants of the PA-28. According to the airworthiness directive, the problem originated from production changes and a quality control issue at Piper Aircraft. However, the 2015 airworthiness directive was superseded by another in 2016, AD 2016-07-21, when reports from the field indicated that more aircraft than what was listed in the original airworthiness directive were affected, bringing the estimated number of affected aircraft in the U.S. registry to 725. According to Piper Service Bulletin Number 1279A, "left undetected, a crack in this rib could propagate to a critical length, potentially resulting in structural failure of the wing and loss of control of the aircraft." However, the service bulletin also gives adequate instructions to inspect for the cracks before they reach a critical length.

Another airworthiness concern is known to affect seven variants the PA-28 line also involves the aircraft's wings. Piper released Service Bulletin 1304 in Aug. 2017, stating that "the safety intent of this service bulletin is to identify and treat any corrosion of the main wing spar. Left untreated, corrosion of the main wing spar could reach a level that compromises the aircraft's airworthiness." The FAA also proposed an airworthiness directive for this issue in Nov. 2017. However, no actual airworthiness directives have been published on this issue as of the writing of this article. According to FAA estimates in the airworthiness directive proposal, the corrosion problem in the wing spar may affect as many as 11,476 aircraft in the U.S. registry. To check for and correct the problem, service bulletin 13 04 calls for the installation of a new inspection access panel if

one does not already exist on the lower inboard section of the wing, plus repairing any damage that is present due to corrosion. The possible severity of the corrosion was demonstrated by a photo provided by the FAA to AOPA in a news article, which showed a wing spar flaking apart due to corrosion.

The accident that killed Capra and Azma is not the first time Piper Aircraft have suffered fatal structural breakups. There was a similar accident that happened in March of 1987 when the wing of a PA-28-181 separated from the aircraft. In April 1987, an NTSB safety recommendation relating to the incident stated, "The Safety Board is concerned that numerous Piper Model 28, and possibly other Piper model airplanes that have relatively high time service hours, also may have similar fatigue cracking in the wing main spars. Because such cracking could lead to a catastrophic wing separation under normal flight conditions, the Safety Board believes that the Federal Aviation Administration needs to take immediate action to preclude the possibility of further failures."

There was also an incident involving a PA-28 in August 2017, where a flight instructor and student pilot in Monroe, NC observed wrinkling on the upper and lower surfaces of the left wing during a preflight inspection. According to the NTSB preliminary report on the incident, the FAA inspector observed substantial damage to the left-wing spar.

In the aftermath of the Embry-Riddle accident, Gold Standard Aviation, a flight school at Miami-Opa Locka Executive, posted a video on Facebook April 20 showing a 1977 Piper Arrow with a structural failure that allowed a man in the video to move the wing in and out of place at its attach point by hand.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to ensure complete aircraft safety. There are simply too many variables to consider, including the quality of the manufacturing process, environment aircraft are operated in, and the actions of those who work with the aircraft.

However, it does appear that there is a more significant problem with Piper Aircraft that needs to be addressed to ensure the continued safety of the general aviation fleet.

Entertainment

APRIL

24 2018

TH

Page

A3

The Avion

Isle of Dog Review

Billy Nguyen SGA Webmaster

I am not a cinephile by any stretch of the imagination, but I do enjoy good cinematography, movie scores and an overall original story in any movie. So, upon hearing that Wes Anderson was returning to the big screen with a film about animated dogs, a Japanese boy, and a lot of garbage, I was naturally intrigued.

Anderson’s films always hit the mark on all of these targets, which was why I waited very patiently for the film to come out.

Despite the only Wes Anderson film I have seen being The Grand Budapest Hotel, I have done a lot of research on Anderson for cinematography inspiration. He takes a lot of pride and care in his work and, as a film-goer, that makes me very excited.

The film takes place in the future in the fictional city of Megasaki City located in Japan. There is an epidemic of dog flu to which the authoritarian dictator, Mayor Kobayashi, ultimately bans all dogs from the city. All dogs, sick and healthy alike, were sent to Trash Island which was an island made entirely out of trash. A few months pass and the Japanese child, in the promo-

tional material for the movie, crash-lands an airplane on the island hoping to find his pet dog who was taken to the island.

The story itself was enjoyable and very unique. I personally feel that there are a few political and social themes sprinkled throughout the various sub-plots of the film, though I was not taking notes during my only screening of the film.

Most of Wes Anderson’s films are known for their implementation of quirky humor, symmetric framing, and complimentary color pallets. Not surprisingly, this film hit on all of these points and more. The humor was spot on, and a good portion of the time the jokes consisted of visual cues rather than verbal jokes.

For instance, one of the title cards at the beginning of the film stated that all of the “actors” would speak in their native tongue of Japanese. Translations to English were either provided by a news interpreter, a teleprompter, or a “junior translator.” When Mayor Kobayashi would deliver speeches, a news interpreter would offer real-time translations in the form of voice-overs.

Later in the film, the “junior translator” appears and delivers translations with some stuttering and awkward pauses, as the “ju-

nior” in his title implied.

Alexandre Desplat returns to score another one of Anderson’s films. Much like his soundtrack to The Grand Budapest Hotel, which I love, the soundtrack to Isle of Dogs was very fitting for the movie. Desplat was able to effectively incorporate elements of East Asian music into a soundtrack that does not scream, “stereotypical Asian movie.” I will say that a lot of the music in the soundtrack follows one a singular theme which is a good and bad thing.

It is good in the sense that the mood and feel of the music were reasonably consistent since a lot of the songs borrowed similar elements like percussion riffs and brass lines.

However, as someone who enjoys music soundtracks, hearing similar songs over and over again does not make the music stand out. To be fair, Steve Jablonsky did the same thing for most of the Transformers movies.

All in all, I really enjoyed Isle of Dogs.

Like most Wes Anderson films, I believe it is a niche movie that not everyone will like or understand. It is definitely an acquired taste, but that does not mean it is a bad movie. I will say though that I liked Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel more than Isle of Dog.

Isle of Dog WATCH IT, STREAM IT, SKIP IT

Lara Croft Returns to Raid the Box Office Sarah Fairchild Copy Editor

The Tomb Raider WATCH IT, STREAM IT, SKIP IT

Victoria Jordan Staff Reporter

The famous, female Tomb Raider is back, shocking audiences with compelling action scenes, a coherent narrative, and surprisingly grounded characters. In the 2018 rendition, viewers follow Lara Croft as she embarks on a daring journey to locate her father; a man who has been missing for the past seven years.

When the original movies first came out, the Lara Croft films had a rocky start.

Based off of the popular video game, the 2001 and 2003 Tomb Raider movies bombed in the theaters: scoring only a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even with Angelina Jolie starring as the rich, athletic, anti-stereotypical female lead, the 2001 and 2003 movies were just too unreal. While the Tomb Raider franchise has always toyed with elements of the fantastical, the movie version of Lara Croft was too perfect.

When the main hero never has to struggle to overcome obstacles, it detached her from reality; becoming someone with who

the audience members could not relate.

The 2018 Tomb Raider film changes all that. Early on in the film, it is made abundantly clear that this will not be your average video game-based movie. Deviating from the norm, this Lara Croft is neither rich nor unrealistically strong. One of the first scenes shows Lara at the gym, boxing another female in the ring and, despite putting up a good fight, eventually losing the match. Additionally, in the film, it is shown that, in order to inherit her family’s wealth and gain ownership of the family mansion, Lara must sign a document that officially declares her missing father dead.

Still stubbornly believing that her dad is alive, Lara refuses to sign the document: a clever way to explain why this version of the famously wealthy character is scraping for funds to get through the day.

But, despite these deviations from the video game character, Lara Croft is no Mary Sue. By displaying possible weakness and flaws in the first act, it allows for the character to grow and develop throughout the remaining adventure. Along with

Alicia Vikander’s superb acting skills, this grounded-in-reality portrayal of the Tomb Raider works incredibly well.

The plot itself is a beautiful subversion from the expected. Initially presented as a search-and-find mission, Lara’s journey is thrown into disarray as she discovers the true intentions of the expeditionary leader Mathias Vogel (played by Walton Goggins). Without revealing too much, the plot expands around the discovery of a tomb rumored to hold the remains of Himiko, the Queen of Yamatai: a mythical being said to command the power over life and death. Needless to say, things are not always what they seem, and the way director Roar Uthaug presents the climax of the film is refreshingly unique.

A refurbish of this beloved saga; the 2018 movie is a seamless blend of video game-styled disbelief and grounded realism. Well worth the price of admission, Tomb Raider is a fantastic film full of fast-paced action and gripping suspense as viewers are drawn into the world of Lara Croft, the Tomb Raider.

The Weeknd’s Latest EP: My Dear Melancholy

Behind the hits “Earned It,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and “Starboy,” Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, has released his latest EP, My Dear Melancholy. This 21 minute EP features the following six tracks: “Call Out My Name,” “Try Me,” “Wasted Times,” “I Was Never There (feat. Gesaffelstein),” “Hurt You,” and “Privilege.”

After listening to this EP on three separate occasions, I have mixed feelings toward it. Usually drawn to his captivating vocal ranges and the dramatic nature of his song’s beats, I expected so much more. From the first listen to this EP, it was merely an attempt to coexist with the bro-

ken-hearted, which showcased a lack of clarity and drive. The EP is just a rip-off of his previous albums, especially Beauty Behind the Madness. I appreciate that this EP was an extension back to his music’s self-reflective, dark and gritty styled roots, but these songs were subpar in comparison to the mastery of the tracks from Beauty Behind the Madness. My most prominent grievance was that majority of his lyrics sounded muffled making it hard to understand what he was singing and to feel anything from the song.

By the third listen, the EP grew on me. I do not despise it as much, but I would not pay for this album in the store. The lyrics had better clarity this time around; thus I could better appreciate the words and the

beats together. However, I still did not feel anything from the EP; there was always something missing in the overall enjoyment in listening to this EP. Overall this EP was not a complete fail; its redeemable qualities were each track’s beats and the successful incorporation of artist Gesaffelstein.

Hopefully by the release of the second part of this album will pick up the slack from Part One. My final ratings for each song on the My Dear Melancholy EP are based on a combination of likeability (songwise) and musicality (beat-wise). “Call Out My Name:” 8.5/10, “Try Me:” 4/10, “Wasted Times:” 6/10, “I Was Never There (feat. Gesaffelstein):” 7/10, “Hurt You (feat. Gesaffelstein):” 6/10, and “Privilege:” 8/10.

My Dear Melancholy PLAY IT, PAUSE IT, SKIP IT

Feature

Page

A4

The Avion

April

24 2018

TH

Old Meets New at Vero Beach

Abigail Johnson Senior Reporter

Two hours south of Daytona Beach is the location of the annual Vero Beach Air Show. People from all parts of Florida travel to Vero Beach to watch the spectacular show that several aviation corporations and military groups treat the public. This show features the best of aerobatics and stunt pilots leading up to the highlight of the show: the Navy’s Blue Angels performance.

Walking into the Vero Beach Air Show is an immediate blast of aviation exhibits and military aircraft. Mostly open to the public, large cargo aircraft are parked and opened for people to explore the interiors. Welcoming you in after the front gates are friendly volunteers and retired veterans who display their love of aviation. Kicking off the show are stunt pilots and aerobatic pilots who pull off challenging maneuvers and daring stalls mid-air over the audience. There also is a friendly competition between the pilots as they twirl and race each other over the flight line. A Mustang, owned by a sponsor of the show, even raced a couple of planes down the runway, and of course, was no match for the soaring aircraft.

As more stunt pilots performed for the crowd below, other displays around the flight line allowed people to get up close to the flight experiences of military aircraft.

Three cargo planes permitted the public to sit in passenger seats, walk around the bay doors, and climb up into the cockpits

Abigail Johnson/The Avion Newspaper A tribute flight to the F-16 Viper Demo Team.

at the top of the aircraft. Also featured on display were a few older commercial jets and a handful of helicopters. However, one of the more popular exhibits included the B-17 “Flying Fortress” named the Memphis Belle, from the classic film.

Inside the Memphis Belle, the crowd could experience the small crawlspaces soldiers had to use during the World War II era and the climb up into the cockpit from the base of the plane. Inside the plane, people also had a chance to cross the catwalk over the bomb bay doors

that would open as the aircraft prepared to deploy bombs during combat.

Finishing up the day was the remarkable performance of the Blue Angels. Six specially trained naval pilots boarded the blue colored F-18s and slowly worked their way across the runway in pairs. The loud sounds of taking off stunned the crowd as the aircraft charged into the sky. Four of the Blue Angels, called “the Diamond” due to their flying formation, completed beautiful turns and spirals in sync with one another. Two other Blue Angels individually

performed tricks while blasting past each other at high speeds up to 600 miles per hour. All six planes put on a fantastic show with impressive maneuvers and beautiful passes over the audience. Afterward, the pilots parked the aircraft and stepped out to interact with the crowd.

Overall, the Vero Beach Air Show was fun, family-friendly, and very educational. Anyone who enjoys aircraft or loves aviation would be interested in attending next year when the Blue Angels return to Florida.

ODK Volunteers at Local Elementary School Cleo Cho Correspondent On Friday, April 20, the National Leadership Honors Society, Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), volunteered for Turie T. Small Elementary School’s PTA Carnival.

The carnival sought to bring together the local community with fun games and activities after school hours. The ODK volunteers helped with various tabletop activities such as Face Painting, the Dinosaur Dig-Up, the Nail Salon, and so much more. In addition to helping with the activities, ODK had a chance to interact with various members of the community. ODK

volunteers had the fantastic opportunity to build relationships and connect with the students and faculty from Turie T. Small Elementary School.

ODK is an honors society that encourages collaboration among students, faculty, staff, and alumni to advance in leadership and service. ODK identifies school involvement and honors, and they develop leaders in collegiate and community life.

Omicron Delta Kappa’s Embry-Riddle chapter is currently working on leadership development skills. Also, the organization plans to bring more leadership and community service opportunities to Embry-Riddle and the local community.

Alex Lee/The Avion Newspaper Members of the National Leadership Honors Society, Omicron Delta Kappa, assist students at Turie. T. Snall Elementary School at an activities fair.

April

24 2018

TH

Vero Beach Air Show

Page

A5

The Avion

Abigail Johnson/The Avion Newspaper A Blue Angel F/A-18 demonstrates a minimum radius turn with full afterburners during their performance.

Korbin Martin/The Avion Newspaper Rob Holland, one of the world’s most innovative and respected aerobatic and airshow performers, turns his MXSRH single-seater aerobatic plane seemingly on a point as he completes his stunning routine.

Korbin Martin/The Avion Newspaper The F-16 Viper Demo Team slowly rolls past the crowd en route to the runway.

Keenan Thungtrakul/The Avion Newspaper The GEICO Skytypers aerobatic team roar over show center. Six vintage WWII aircraft make up the flight squadron, performing precision flight maneuvers at air shows all across the United States.

Keenan Thungtrakul/The Avion Newspaper A local band performs live music before the airshow performers and spectators at the Food Fest that followed Saturday’s running of the Vero Beach Air Show.

Abigail Johnson/The Avion Newspaper Five of the six Blue Angels line roar past the viewing area in formation for the final display. One of the Blue Angels had to land early due to an issue encountered mid-air show.

Abigail Johnson/The Avion Newspaper

Industry

Page

B2

The Avion

Airshow Center Fort Lauderdale Air Show Fort Lauderdale, FL May 05 - 06, 2018

• The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds are sched-

uled to headline the 2018 Ford Lauderdale Air Show that will feature some of the nation’s most popular military jet demonstrations, parachute teams, civilian aerobatic acts and formation flight teams. Many more performers will be announced in the coming weeks. _________

MacDill AB Tampa Bay AirFest Tampa, FL May 12 - 13, 2018

• MacDill AFB once again rolls out the red carpet for our friends and neighbors through a showcase of extreme aviation capabilities. The headlining U.S. Navy Blue Angels are joined this year by the F-22 Demo team and the A-10 Demo Team (flying air shows for the first time in seven years). _________ Miami Beach Air & Sea Show South Beach Miami, FL May 26 - 27, 2018

• The Air & Sea Show will feature military demonstrations and musical talent, all culminating with a special night-pyro parachute demonstration by the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team. Additional performers include a USAF F-16 Viper Demo and the USAF F-35 Heritage Flight team. _________ Pensacola Beach Air Show Pensacola Beach, FL July 11 - 14, 2018

• Featuring the US Navy’s Blue Angels, this air show culminates Red, White, and Blues Week.

Notable performers include Julian MacQueen, Kevin Coleman, Gary Ward, Skip Stewart, and the Redline Team.

This Week in Aviation History

April 24, 1996

The modified McDonnell Douglas F-15 S/TMD becomes the first aircraft to fly supersonic using round, pitch-and-yaw thrust-vectoring nozzles.

April 25, 1962

The United States Department of Defense announces its choice of the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter for its Military Assistance Program.

April 26, 1943

The British employ Ground Grocer, the first device capable of jamming the airborne Lichtenstein radar employed by German night fighters.

April 27, 1918

The United States Department of War creates a Division of Military Aeronautics responsible for the training of United States Army aviation personnel and units.

April 28, 1918

Launch: Space Shuttle Discovery STS-39 at 11:33:14 UTC. Mission highlights: First unclassified DoD mission; military science experiments.

24 2018

TH

The Rules for Flying Drones on Campus Hunter Tedrick UAS Club President In recent years, since the release of Part 107, there has been an increase in the call for drone safety and accountability. And, believe it or not, to answer that call, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is on the leading edge for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) integration, UAS training, and UAS research as a whole. Thankfully, because of ERAU’s profound response to the growth of the UAS industry, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted the University the right to fly small UAS on campus! Unfortu-

TESS Continued from A1 >> When asked if TESS is a worthy successor to Kepler, Martin Still expressed his firm approval. If Kepler were not successful, then TESS would not have existed.

Michele Johnson, public affairs officer for Kepler, agreed. Kepler was initially supposed to assess the probability of exoplanets existing beyond the solar system. That is why the search field for Kepler is deep and narrow, some 3000 light years long. Even with this restriction, Kepler never ceased to amaze the mission team. Still said that each confirmed discovery would send a wave of excitement that later ebbed and flowed with each newly discovered planet. What's more amazing is the population of Earthlike planet candidates, most notably Kepler 22b, Kepler 62e and Kepler 62f. These planets fit the requirements needed for life to develop (small enough to be rocky, and within the star's so-called "habitable zone," an area where water can exist as a liquid).

With TESS, the door is now wide open for even more exoplanet discoveries. Unlike Kepler, TESS will focus on finding planets around stars that are smaller than our Sun, meaning planets will have shorter orbital

nately, there are some strict guidelines that we have to follow, and there is a lack of information on those guidelines provided to the student body. This lack of knowledge has caused conflicts with manned operations around Daytona Beach International Airport, mainly around Runway 16/34.

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technology Club is taking action to educate ERAU students on the rules for flying drones on campus. This way, we can ensure safety for manned aircraft around the airport and continue exercising the privilege of operating on campus long into the future. So, read these guidelines that will lead you to safety and success, and most importantly, have fun!

Guidelines for Safety and Success for

UAS Flight on Campus: • You must be a paying member of the UAS Technology Club or the Radio-Controlled Airplane Club • You may only fly within the pre-designated locations on campus: Richard Petty Field Turf Softball Field • You must remain below 200’ AGL • You must keep the aircraft within line-of-sight • The aircraft must have a predetermined failsafe function For more information you may contact the President of the UAS Technology Club: Hunter Tedrick tedrickh@my.erau.edu

periods, making them easier to detect. The stars that TESS will be surveying are closer to our Sun than the Kepler stars: 30 to 300 light years as opposed to 300 to 3000 light years. These stars will also have a higher luminosity, making follow-up observations with other telescopes easier. Follow-ups are critical if astronomers and scientists hope to calculate the mass, density, and bulk composition of each planet candidate. It was these follow-up observations that allowed the Kepler scientists to announce discoveries of worlds that were once only thought to exist in the realm of science fiction, such as the resemblance of the gas giant Kepler 16b to the fictional planet of Tatooine from Star Wars. According to Felicia Chou, chief public affairs officer for NASA, TESS' job is to collect a large list of exoplanet candidates to later follow up on with telescopes like James Webb, which has been delayed multiple times due to extensive testing. To paraphrase, "[JWST] is very sophisticated, everything has to function perfectly."

TESS is one of the lightest payloads to be flown on a Falcon 9 rocket. With the final new Block 4 booster being used, SpaceX hopes to prove that they can launch a rocket, land it, and turn it around in as little as 24 hours. There are plans to have the Block 5 boosters possess that rapid turn-

around capability. For those unfamiliar with SpaceX's technical language, "Block" is another word for version, or "Mk.". By "the final Block 4", SpaceX is saying that this is the final new Version 4 Falcon booster to be launched and landed. Similarly, Version 5 will ultimately possess the ability to be quickly turned around, so there is a minimal wait time between launches.

TESS' design is helping to foster in a new era of satellite design. Conventional satellites are big, bulky, and can clock in at over 1000 kg a pop. By comparison, Kepler weighed 1,052 kg at launch, and Hubble weighed 10,900 kg. TESS only weighed 362 kg at launch. TESS is one of many new satellite designs that fall under the category of "small satellite," or "small sat." According to Guerrero, the cameras on TESS do not have any moving parts, so that means no heavy mechanical hardware that adds significant weight. The result is a compact system that fits within a small frame. Satellites like TESS show that it doesn't necessarily take a large, bulky spacecraft to be able to perform important science. With a promising future ahead for the mission team, everyone has high hopes that the spacecraft will help humanity find out where their next destination might be after the Solar System is colonized.

A Growing Galaxy

April 23, 1994

Airbus delivers the first of 25 A300-600F dedicated freighters to the specialized package carrier, FedEx. This all-cargo version can carry up to a maximum payload of 120,855 lb over a range of 1,900 nautical miles.

April

Alessia Ames Secretary Our galaxy is thought to be so vast, that when compared to just our home planet, we seem so small. Just living on tiny planet Earth, most Americans have not seen the entire nation, let alone every country; yet we are working to be able to reach the next planet in our solar system; however, there are numerous completely different solar systems inside our galaxy waiting to be explored. There has recently been a new star discovery that suggests, if you believe in the expanding universe theory, that our Milky Way galaxy is growing at a rate faster than the speed of sound.

More frequently stars are being discovered on the outskirts of our galaxy. Cristina Martinez-Lombilla is working on achieving her doctorate from the Astrophysics Institute of the Canary Islands, and she is quoted as saying that “the Milky Way is pretty big already. But our work shows that at least the visible part of it is slowly increasing in size, as stars form on the galactic outskirts,” even NASA can be quoted stating that the galaxy is expanding five to nine percent faster than first predicted.

Since our planet is in the middle of the galaxy, it is difficult to have an accurate measurement of just how large it is. We are predicted to be 100,000 light years wide.

Most measurements that occur are comparisons between our galaxy to other spiral galaxies. One example of a comparison that has occurred is our Milky Way to Hercules A, which is estimated to be 1.5 million light years wide. Optical-light data is the method most often used. This is the case for Cristina Martinez-Lombilla, who received her information from NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) and other telescopes. The GALEX has been retired now, but the other telescopes are still in use today that continue the search for evidence and knowledge about our universe. There are other methods though. Adam Reiss of the Space Telescope Science Institute and John Hopkins University has a team of researchers that are looking at the growth of our galaxy by comparing the Cephid stars and Type Ia supernovae in a galaxy. The distance of these stars is being calculated by comparing their true brightness to their apparent brightness from Earth.

If the discoveries are correct, some scientists fear that the fast-growing rate

will cause the spiral galaxies to merge.

This phenomenon has been nicknamed the “Milkdromeda,” since this would be a combination of our Milky Way and Andromeda. NASA’s researchers have researched this topic and stay that our Milky Way galaxy is moving in such a way that it will collide with the Andromeda galaxy in approximately four billion years. Even with this impact destruction is not predicted for our solar system. NASA’s Hubble telescope calculates that Andromeda is 2.5 million light-years away.

Photo Courtesy: NASA An artistic depiction of the Milky Way Galaxy colliding with the Andromeda Galaxy.

April

24 2018

TH

Technology

Satellite Constellations Face Challenge

Page

B3

The Avion

Launch Control Center Sentinel 3B - Rockot

April 25 @ 1:57 p.m.

Plesetsk Cosmodrome, RUS

Bangabandhu 1 - Falcon 9 May 4 @ TBD Kennedy Space Center LC - 39A

InSight - Atlas 5

May 5 @ 7:05 - 9:05 a.m.

Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC - 3E

GRACE - Falcon 9

May 19 @ 4:03 p.m.

Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC - 4E

ISS Sightings

Photo Courtesy: Iridium Satellite Communications Shown here is an Iridium NEXT satellite. The Iridium story shares a great message about the challenges proposed satellites constellations will face.

Michael Weinhoffer Senior Reporter On March 29, the FCC authorized the full deployment of SpaceX’s 4,425 satellite constellation, 50% of which must be launched by March 29, 2024.

SpaceX tried to get this requirement waived but was unsuccessful. Although the authorization is a considerable achievement for SpaceX, the feasibility of deploying over 2,000 satellites over a six-year period must be questioned.

The launching challenges are just one of several obstacles that all “Big LEO” satellite constellations must face, and history has shown that some of the companies proposing to operate these satellites may be in over their heads.

Other operators in the constellation game include OneWeb, Telesat Canada, and Space Norway. They all have similar goals of bringing broadband internet to as many people in the world as possible. SpaceX is proposing two constellations: one of 4,425 satellites, and a second of over 7,000 satellites, which will orbit at an altitude below the ISS. The most obvious concern with these constellations is space debris. There are over 1,000 satellites that are currently operational, and the unprecedented number of satellites that will be launched in a short time frame will put a strain on space debris models and safe space operations.

NASA is currently developing updated space debris models, and SpaceX will be required to submit a new debris mitigation plan to the FCC when the new models are available. Even though

all of the constellation companies are ensuring that their spacecraft will not cause debris, the sheer size of the constellations will remain a continuous concern to the space industry.

Besides manufacturing thousands of sturdy satellites, there are even more significant logistical challenges that all of the companies with satellite constellations will face. The Iridium constellation is an excellent example of the logistical nightmare that these companies will endure. Iridium is in the process of launching the next-generation of their satellites, which allow anyone around the world and on the seas to connect to anyone else with an Iridium phone. The Iridium constellation consists of just 66 satellites, but launching them took two years due to the need for launching replacement satellites. The Iridium launches were also broken up between three rockets – one vehicle each from the United States, China, and Russia. OneWeb plans to launch their constellation with one launch vehicle from the European launch provider Arianespace, with Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, and with Virgin Orbit. SpaceX prefers vertical integration, as demonstrated by building rockets, crew capsules, and now satellites all on their own, with no outside suppliers. This means that SpaceX will likely launch all 4,425 satellites on Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy rockets, which would put their reusability program to the ultimate test and would require hundreds of launches over a few years.

Another challenge also faced by

Iridium was the cost of their services.

As explained in the book Eccentric Orbits: The Iridium Story, services for those without cellular access first go through “gateways,” which where is antenna dishes collect the signals from the satellites. These gateways were owned and operated by Motorola, which was the conceiver of the constellation. The challenge was getting the services from the gateway to the people who needed them at a low cost.

Local cellular service providers were responsible for delivering the service to the local population, and although the Iridium service was marketed as low-cost, the providers were in charge of prices and often made the service too expensive for the local market. The proposed satellite constellations will most likely face the same problem.

They can market their service as lowcost, but with local internet providers in charge of pricing, the service may not be very affordable to those who need it most.

Eccentric Orbits tells the story of how a businessman with no affiliation with Motorola fought the U.S. government and Motorola for ownership of the Iridium constellation when Motorola decided to deorbit all 66 satellites due to low revenue.

He ultimately got the funding to take ownership of the constellation and won the battle. The Iridium constellation was on the brink of destruction, but now it is thriving like never before.

Could a similar situation arise with the new constellations? What if SpaceX or OneWeb or others decide to deorbit their satellites and end their services because of low revenue? Will someone step up to save them? For all of the money that will be put into these projects, you would hope so. Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX, said recently that their satellite project is “the most challenging project we have undertaken,” and estimated that the deployment of the full system would cost $10 billion.

SpaceX plans to begin deployment next year, while OneWeb is launching the first 10 of their satellites in August.

The history of the Iridium constellation makes it clear that there are a lot of challenges ahead for these proposed constellations, well beyond the manufacturing stage.

The Iridium story also tells us that these challenges are not insurmountable. If a company truly believes in their mission, they will stop at nothing to make their dream a reality. Recogniztion of the challenges is the first step to overcoming them, and Iridium is the perfect lesson from that we can learn.

April 27

5:44 a.m. - The ISS will be visible for 2 minutes with a maximum height above the horizon of 11 degrees. It will first appear at 10 degrees above SE and will disappear at 10 degrees above ESE.

April 29

5:35 a.m. - The ISS will be visible for 3 minutes with a maximum height above the horizon of 34 degrees. It will first appear at 17 degrees above S and will disappear at 27 degrees above E.

April 30

6:19 a.m. - The ISS will be visible for 5 minutes with a maximum height above the horizon of 28 degrees. It will first appear at 11 degrees above WSW and will disappear at 12 degrees above NNE.

May 1

5:28 a.m. - The ISS will be visible for 3minutes with a maximum height above the horizon of 65 degrees. It will first appear at 45 degrees above WSW and will disappear at 22 degrees above NNE.

This Week in Space History April 23, 1965

Gemini Launch Vehicle 4 and Spacecraft No. 4 were mechanically mated at Complex 19. The Electrical Interface Integrated Validation and Joint Guidance and Control test were completed on April 26 - April 29.

April 24, 1959

Maj. Gen. Bernard A. Schriever, Commander of the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division, testified before the Senate Committee of Aeronautical and Space Sciences that all three of the U.S. military services should be looking into the possibility of a base on the moon.

April 25, 1961

Mercury-Atlas 3 (MA-3) was launched from Cape Canaveral in an attempt to orbit the spacecraft with a ‘mechanical astronaut’ aboard. After lift-off, the launch vehicle failed to roll to a 70 degree heading and to pitch over into the proper trajectory.

April 26, 1974

The Space Systems Division selected Martin Marietta Corporation to develop the SV-5P manned lifting-body vehicle that would be used to investigate flight characteristics.

Saktiswaran Jeyaganesh/The Avion Newspaper

24 Sports Male and Female Student Athletes of the Year April

Page

C2

TH

2018

Athlete Spotlight

Allison Smalling ERAU Athletics

Skylar Mossop One of this week’s rockstar athletes is Skylar Mossop. She is a sophomore from Baltimore, Maryland and is 20 years old. She’s majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in High Performance Vehicles. Skylar is the Goalie on Embry-Riddle’s Women’s Lacrosse team and she’s been playing since she was seven years old! “I was a very energetic kid so I played a lot of sports. Since lacrosse is a very popular sport in Maryland I decided to try it. Ever since I picked up a lacrosse stick, it has stuck with me.” When asked why she chose Embry-Riddle as her college, she responded, “I was originally committed to playing for a Division I lacrosse program. At the last minute I decided the school was not the best academic fit for me. I started looking for engineering schools where I could pursue an engineering degree with a focus in high performance vehicles.

Since my father was an Embry-Riddle graduate, he suggested I come here.” After Skylar graduates, she hopes to be in the automotive industry working on designing cars and/or engines. She would love to continue playing lacrosse after graduation, however she thinks coaching it would be a better route for her. Keep being a rockstar, Skylar!

Dominic Jeancola Dominic Jeancola is another rockstar athlete. He is 22 years old from Deland, Florida. Dominic is a senior in Mechanical Engineering and is a pitcher for ERAU’s Baseball team, and he’s been playing for 19 years! When asked how he got started in his sport, he responded, “My mom signed me up for tee-ball when I was three years old.”

Dominic said he attended Embry-Riddle because it had his chosen degree field and because he would be able to play baseball.

After Dominic graduates, he plans to get a Master’s Degree. If given the opportunity to continue playing baseball, he said he would, of course, continue playing. Keep being a rockstar, Dominic! Good luck in your future endeavors!

The Embry-Riddle Athletics Department announced the ERAU Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year at the 2018 Athletic Awards Banquet on Tuesday evening. Lauren Ellenberger and Juan Ortiz Couder were selected from a pool of current Embry-Riddle student-athletes who submitted applications and were interviewed by a committee comprised of ERAU students, faculty and staff, and were presented with the Steve & Vicky Ridder Scholarships at the conclusion of the banquet.

A commitment to academic achievement, campus and community involvement, personal holistic growth and a drive to excel in sport exemplifies the spirit of Steve and Vicky Ridder and the scholarship that bears their names. Each head coach is asked to submit a nominee that represents the ERAU athletics department ideal package - the student-person-player - and those nominees must then submit an essay describing the ways in which they exude the aforementioned characteristics.

Ellenberger just completed her junior season with the Embry-Riddle women’s basketball team. The Granger, Indiana native helped lead the Eagles to their best season in program history in 2017-18 as ERAU went 24-8 overall and 14-5 in the Sunshine State Conference, finishing as the runner-up in both the regular season and conference tournament.

Ellenberger and the Eagles earned a berth to the NCAA South Region Tournament where they were the final SSC team standing, advancing to the Region semifinals.

Ellenberger was named a second team All-SSC performer after leading the league in assists with 4.6 per game

and 147 total. The Eagle guard averaged 29.5 minutes per contest, scoring 9.7 points, grabbing 4.8 rebounds and dishing out 4.6 assists during her junior campaign.

Ellenberger boasts a 3.8 GPA in Business Administration, earning Dean’s List distinction in every semester she has been at Embry-Riddle. She has earned SSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll recognition, the NCAA II ADA Academic Achievement Award and is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

“

Lauren is a special young lady who makes an impact on everyone she meets and in everything she does.

“

The Avion

In addition to her success on the court and in the classroom, Ellenberger has enjoyed volunteering, whether it be with the Best Foot Forward program, youth basketball camps, Junior Achievement and the Tim Tebow Foundation’s Night to Shine.

“Lauren is a special young lady who makes an impact on everyone she meets and in everything she does,” ERAU women’s basketball coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson said. “We recruited Lauren to be our program’s first point guard and we knew what we would get on the floor from her every single practice and game, but what we didn’t know was what an amazing impact she would have in every other aspect of her campus life.

She is the Total Package and our program would not be where it is today without Lauren Ellenberger.”

Ortiz Couder is the midst of his

junior season as a member of the Embry-Riddle men’s tennis team.

The native of Madrid, Spain came to Embry-Riddle and quickly established himself as one of the premier players on the Eagle roster. Ortiz Couder was an ITA All-American as a sophomore and has posted a career record of 49-18 in singles play, playing the majority of his matches at the top spot in the ERAU lineup, and 44-16 in doubles action.

Ortiz Couder has led the Eagles to two separate wins over reigning national championship teams while reaching an individual ranking a high as 12th nationally in singles and second in doubles.

Ortiz Couder owns victories over players ranked as high as third in NCAA II, fifth in NAIA and numerous top-five doubles tandems.

The Software Engineering major carries a 3.71 cumulative GPA and has been a Dean’s List honoree five times, an SSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll recipient twice and an ITA Scholar-Athlete during the course of his collegiate career. He is also a member of the TechEagles club.

Ortiz Couder has been a team leader for the men’s tennis squad when it comes to community service, organizing a Habitat for Humanity event, and tennis clinics for children, and has been actively involved with Zach, a Team IMPACT teammate of the ERAU men’s tennis program.

“Juan is one of those unique student-athletes that you can build a team around,” ERAU tennis coach Dave Paschal said. “It is my privilege to coach him and it is one of the highlights of my day to see his smiling face as he arrives to practice, weights or a match. The best compliment I can give is that if my two sons turn out like Juan Ortiz Couder I would be a very happy and proud father.

Rowing Opens Up SIRA Competition in Tennessee Allison Smalling ERAU Athletics The Embry-Riddle men’s and women’s rowing teams opened up the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championship Regatta on Saturday at Melton Hill Lake.

Jordan Pfile and Julianna Snider opened the day’s racing with a fourth-place finish (7:43.144) in women’s double and advance to Sunday’s grand finals.

The men’s JV 8+, consisting of Arik Palmer, Nick Horn, Noah Thornburgh, Caleb Truesdale, Trevor Turpie, Maxwell Katich,

Chessie Newbold, Eric Vogel and Michael Nix, saw the Eagles finish 11th in 5:45.027 in their time trial, while the varsity 8+ (David Tsnobiladze, Guillermo Mazzilli, Galen Marteal, Peter Douglass, Ethan Boone, Zachary Stith, Lucas Ferrando-Quilez, George and Joe Gunther) race was a 10th-place showing for the Blue and Gold in 5:28.937 in their time trial.

Embry-Riddle’s women’s novice 4+ team of Kathryn Chilelli, Lauren Stollenwerk, Kaya Treder, Rachel Hemsworth and Athena Padgiotis posted a time of 7:08.760 while the men’s JV 8+ squad finished in 6:22.486 in a semifinal race.

The final ERAU race of the day was the men’s varsity 8+ semifinal where the Eagles raced to a time of 6:07.019.

“We had a great day of racing today,” Director of Rowing Jamie Francis said. “Both women’s boats progressed to tomorrow’s grand finals. The men’s eights had great races in their semifinals and came up just short of advancing to the grand final. We’re continuing to learn each time we come down the race course and we hope to put our best races together in tomorrow’s final.”

The SIRA Championship Regatta wraps up tomorrow, Sunday, April 22.

Photo Courtesy: Suzuki

Page

C4

The Avion

MOTORSPORTS

APRIL

24 2018

TH

Upcoming Races: An Interview with Ricky Carmichael NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NASCAR CWTS Race at Dover Dover International Speedway May 4 at 5:00 p.m.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Sparks Energy 300 Talladega Superspeedway April 28 at 3:00 p.m.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Geico 500 Talladega Superspeedway April 29 at 2:00 p.m.

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Presented By Lear

Raceway at Belle Isle Park June 2 TBA

FIA Formula E Championship 2018 Qatar Airways Paris E-Prix Circuit Des Invalides April 28 TBA

The Winningest Motocross Racer Joins The Avion Newspaper for an Interview

Rajan Khanna News Editor The Avion Newspaper recently had the amazing opportunity to interview one of the most famous and successful individuals in motocross, Ricky Carmichael. Carmichael is widely considered the ‘greatest of all time’ in dirt motorcycle racing. The Floridian has competed in various motorsports events since he was five years old. His cousin raced and he wanted to aswell, so his father made it possible. Carmichael rode locally until 1985 when he started gaining traction and moving up on the motocross skill chain. When he was 17, he went pro.

The Avion Newspaper: How was your experience on Top Gear?

Ricky Carmichael:The opportunity was outstanding. My friend, Ken Block, invited me on with DC Shoes sponsoring it. The whole experience was unforgettable and great opportunity.

Q: Take me through your 2002 and 2004 seasons. What made them so good?

RC: Those seasons were my two perfect seasons. I won every race in the motocross season. The whole season felt completely normal until the last race where I could set the record and be the only racer to go 24-0. I never felt the pressure until I got to that spot.

Q: You completed those seasons with Honda as your manufactuerer but you have used a few different manufactuerers in your career. What kind of differences did you notice between bikes?

RC: I started with Kawasaki and they supported me for my first six years of competition. I used both Honda and Suzuki bikes thereafter. All the different bikes had their own characteristics. Some would be good and some would be bad. It was our job to learn to adapt and use the differences to gain an advantage on the other racers. Usually there was a transition period of about two to four seasons where we diag-

Photo Courtesy: Monster Energy

nosed issues and improved upon them.

The team personell also changed with manufacturers so it was a challenge to work with new people every time.

Q: How did you get started in NASCAR? What was that like?

RC: Stock car racing was great. The whole sport is so much different than motocross. Kasey Kahne reached out to me and asked if I wanted to drive a late model stock car. I accepted and was invited to test and race Xfinity Series cars.

Q: What is your favorite track in every series you have raced?

RC: In motocross, Red Bud Michigan. My favorite tracks in supercross are both Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta. The Atlanta race takes place in the stadium, so it was an interesting experience. In NASCAR, my favorite tracks are Daytona International Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, and any road course. The way the

cars take to a road course is great fun to drive but extremely difficult to master.

In addition to racing, Carmichael has designed the supercross track for Daytona Interntional Speedway for many years.

Q: Which track that you have designed has been your favorite?

RC: Each track has their own character, so I don’t have a favorite. I like them all.

Carmichael has retired from full time racing in any series, but he is still very active in the sport. He hosts the “Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross Race annually at Daytona International Speedway. It is the biggest race for the Amateur Supercross field and opens their season on a huge stage.

The race gives tremendous opportunity for amateur racers on a huge stage.

The Avion Newspaper wishes luck to Carmichael in his involvement with the sport in the future.

FIA Formula 1 World Championship Formula 1 European Grand Prix Baku Street Circuit April 29 at 8:10 a.m.

Verizon INDYCAR Series INDYCAR Grand Prix Indianapolis Motor Speedway May 12 at 3:50 p.m.

Photo Courtesy: TWMX.com

Farewell, Henry

Farewell

Page

H2

The Avion

April

24 2018

TH

A Letter from the Editor

Henry Neiberlien, pictured front, stands amongst his exec board at the Student Government Association Banquet that took place on April 17, 2018.

Henry Neiberlien Editor-in-Chief Here I am, at the end of a long road.

Looking back upon a fantastic career here at Embry-Riddle. So many laughs, so many tears, so many new lifelong friends.

At this point, I felt as though it is time to look back on what I, what we, have accomplished here during my time at the Avion Newspaper. In the spring of 2015, I had just finished a semester at my local community college, not even studying anything particular, having worked for six months at Staples after leaving my previous school. That school, the one where college first began for me, was Vaughn College in Queens, New York. I do not know about anyone else, but if you know anything about Vaughn College, it will strike you like a cheap knockoff of Embry-Riddle. It took me a year to figure that one out; the fact was it was cheap and only an hour from my house. So there I was again in June 2015, not really knowing what I was doing with my life working at a grocery store. Ever since I started flying when I was 13, I knew about Embry-Riddle and how it was the best school for someone as passionate as I am about aviation. I just thought since it was in Florida it was too far and too expensive for me to even dream of attending.

My parents were always very supportive of me, and they said to apply anyway, and they

Henry sitting in his dorm on his first night here at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

would find a way to get me here. Well, I got in, and I started that fall.

Coming to a new school is not easy, especially one that is hundreds of miles away in a different state. You see I am timid and I do not really make friends quickly.

That first year was rough. I spent countless days just sitting in my dorm playing video games and being alone. Occasionally, I would talk to my friends back home, and they helped to get me through the days.

I just went to class, and I even made it a priority to avoid all clubs and activities. I became more antisocial than ever and being away from my friends and family probably accelerated the process. After a while the depression starts to sink in, I was happy with what I was studying, I just felt sort of empty and frustrated with life. I know there really was not anything wrong, I was fortunate with what I had, it is just when you have that much time alone, you tend to get lost in your own head.

The next year I decided to do something different, I wanted a change. I did not know what I even wanted to change or how to change it. One night my new roommate was heading out and I asked him where he was going. He said he was going down to a rocket launch, and I asked if could come too. He said I needed to join The Avion Newspaper. I did not care for journalism at all, yes I liked current events and thinking about them, but articles and taking photos? Not for me. I still do not know what possessed me that night to say I wanted to join, I just did. My roommate began to tell me they had a position open too. The Avion was looking for a new News Editor, and after looking over the job description, I thought that it did not seem so bad so I said I would be happy to give it a try. I knew I was accepting a job, but I thought it was just a volunteer or minimum wage position, little did I know it came with a desk, an iMac, a name tag, and a stipend. Another surprise was that I was now part of the Student Government Association. I do not even know the Avion existed at this point and I never even had heard of the SGA (I was pretty good at living under a rock).

I tried really hard to do well as News Editor, writing three or four articles a week for the fledgling paper. I made some great friends during this time, but my timidness was still wearing off. Seeing my work in the

paper was exciting, and it finally felt like I was accomplishing something in my life.

I got to go down to Kennedy Space Center to cover a rocket launch from NASA property, and I also got to cover the sounds and sights of SUN 'n FUN, a show I never thought I would get to attend. As the year drew to a close, there began talks and murmurs about the nominations and elections for Editor-in-Chief. I was happy where I was, being News Editor, and the thought never really crossed my mind about running for Editor-in-Chief, that was until my roommate convinced me. The thing was he was also running for Editor-in-Chief and kind of thought I would be easy to beat, at least he thought that until I won instead.

So there I was in Fall 2017 as the Editor-in-Chief of the Avion. Tensions were high between all the SGA divisions as the Avion was sort of the group of outsiders.

The style of the paper was boring and old, leftover from years gone. The best part about the whole thing is that I did not have the slightest clue about what I was doing.

I went from 0-60 with trying desperately to control the drama between people, make a good impression on the SGA Exec team, and balance my senior year between it all. I was on my own for most of it, as our advisor at the time was less than ideal. One thing I knew for sure was that things needed to change, and fast.

The Avion, like all of the print media, was dying a slow death. Bleeding off members and everyone in the SGA seemed to have a negative attitude towards it. I designed a new logo and wanted to reinvent the paper. I also tried to create a place where people had fun, not concentrate on the millimeters of difference between the heading sizes on page A6 and berate people for it. Of course, all of this was easier said than done. The emotional toll I have taken this year has been exhausting. I care profoundly about everyone in this organization and I treat it as a family. Sometimes when those people create drama and want to break each other down, it is hard to keep trying to build people up. When the spring semester came around, we got a new, and fantastic, advisor and I got rid of those who were the negative, pessimistic people of the past who were holding the paper back. It took many sleepless nights but we built a brand new look for

paper that we rolled out. While it had a ways to go before it was perfect, the fact that the students started to see real change in this organization is all I really wanted.

Here I sit in the newsroom a quarter to eleven at night on a Saturday and I cannot help but shed a tear knowing that this grand adventure I began what felt like decades ago is now coming to an end. In a couple of weeks, I will be a college graduate and be entering the "real" world. I am going to miss my friends and I am going to miss this organization. I feel I have indeed become a new person and my life will never be the same. I have made friends and experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life. The Editor-in-Chief of a university paper is not a big deal in the grand scheme of life; new Editor-in-Chief 's will come and go until the end of this organization. I hope that you, the person who is reading this now, have enjoyed reading the paper through this year and really appreciate all the hard work we put into creating a newspaper without being journalists ourselves. We do this because we love the people, we love our school, and we love aerospace. I will soon be gone, moving on in life, and become a long forgotten name in our ever-growing student body. However, I hope as time continues on its endless journey you look back at this moment and appreciate how I tried and succeeded in my quest to bring this organization into a brand new era.

Henry standing in front of SpaceX Headquarters located in Hawthorne, California.

April

24 2018

TH

Memories

Page

H3

The Avion

GAMES AND

COMICS

Finished the crossword or all of the Sudoku Puzzles and haven’t won this semester? Come in to The Avion Office in SC 110 to claim your prize!

Prizes Up For Grabs: -Planetary String Lights -Lego Brick Mug -Star Wars Plushes -And So Much More!

XKCD

xkcd.com

“I found a copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, but the idea of reading it didn’t spark joy, so I gave it away.”