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Aerospace Activities??

Started by Bexa, October 22, 2019, 10:15:10 PM

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Kayll'b

#20
Go to the Spacex website, there's plenty there for a presentation. It helps because you are talking about the future and what the cadets are going to be doing. And they're also just doing some really cool things, for example the starship's re-entry in going to be flat, parralel to the earth.
C/Capt

Mitchell # 69847

Squadron Cadet Leadership officer

GCAC Recorder

AdAstra

Charles Wiest

Spam

To the OP:

my best advice having worked in aerospace engineering and having taught AE in CAP for three decades is:


1. Stick to existing established curriculum, unless you've amassed professional credentials to write classes yourself. Making it up (if you're not experienced/credentialed in the area) invites error. Embarrassing error.


2. Videos and Power points ain't all that. Hands on demonstrations are MUST HAVES, but only when coupled with the presentation/discussion of the underlying theory. Simply buying balsa gliders (or building and shooting rockets, or flying toy UAVs...) without discussing the principles of flight, is PLAYING WITH TOYS - not AE. Aerospace education consists of presenting material via discussion as well as hands on experiential learning, coupled with knowledge assessment. Just playing with toys equals a (fun) waste of time, but that IS NOT the program of record here in CAP. Annually we get government tax money to provide Aerospace Education - not to fund hobbyist sports. We need to adhere to the program of record.


3. Quality control is a must. Aviation is inherently unforgiving of lack of attention to detail. Rehearse your class/activity, prep before it, and be open to feedback to correct what goes wrong.


4. Use AE educational sources as class material, and use PR briefs and marketing as what they are: show and tell marketing (only). Don't mistake NASA PR, or vendor propaganda as on the SpaceX website, as material for any sort of course of instruction in basic principles. In other words, use the slick videos to augment classes, not as the basis FOR a basic course of AE instruction in aeronautical principles. A perfect example is the above result from reading a slick marketing site, coming away somehow believing that deorbit burns are "flat", and "parralel" (sic) to the earth. A well intentioned but ignorant result of not following the basics of the CAP AE curriculum. (Sorry, Kayll'b... but engineers call it like we see it, no offense intended. Ain't your fault, its ours as SMs and AEOs).


5. Finally, strategy should drive tactics. Your unit is required to have an annual AE plan, which should drive the tactical plan for what this month's scheduled - repeat scheduled - AE class(es) are. If you're only being assigned the job a week out then you may need to punt for this week, and have a serious sit down with your Squadron Commander (i.e. not the cadet but the adult) and fix this. A plan should have people, resources, and objectives assigned to it months or weeks (not days) in advance, with backup options, to be truly effective.


Our nation is the world aerospace leader because of following these guidelines... lets live by them and teach them and not accept half ass work, making things up on the fly and parroting half understood inaccuracies, and playing with toys rather than teaching the fundamentals in a fun, effective hands on way.


R/s
Spam
(on travel this week working at the Nellis CSAR CTF... fun stuff).





GaryVC