Aerospace Engineering

Denne side på norsk

This webpage will contain regular news updates from Aerospace Engineering at UiA.

Final Semester of Aeronautical Engineering in Grimstad Have you ever wondered why an ambulance sounds different when driving away from you than when it’s making an approach, or why figure skaters twirl faster when they wrap their arms around their bodies? Do you think it’s interesting to learn about how air that circulates around a plane can supply it with force, and how steel can become harder by heating it up and cooling it off?

Do you want to find out how a construction of thin aluminum can be made in order to absorb all the force applied to it, and how often you have to check or replace an engine component in order to make sure that the engine works? These are some of the many topics you learn about in the aeronautical engineering program in Grimstad.

Kjell Skjønhaug, Khurom Rai and Magnus Wannebo are three students who, after nearly three years at UiA, are finishing up their aeronautical engineering studies. However, the last thing they need to do before finishing is write their bachelor’s thesis, which consists of a successfully completing a project assignment for an external company or school. These three students have chosen to work at Kongsberg Defence Systems, which has a long-running student project program for developing a completely self-propelled model plane.

Before starting their bachelor’s thesis, these students have worked their way through exercises and hand-in assignments on both an individual and group basis, their message to beginning students being the following: ”The important thing is not to give up”. This is because as soon as students have passed their compulsory courses, they may go on to take courses are more geared towards aeronautics and mechanics. The program’s first year is comprised of certain compulsory courses for all engineer students, emphasizing math and physics (something certain students find a bit difficult). However, there is comfort in knowing that everyone has to go through this trial, something that often creates a feeling of solidarity and is what being a student is all about, say students. This feeling regarding the important academic and social combination was expressed during a trip to England last fall, when students visited not only Airbus, Eurocopter and Rolls Royce but also several aeronautical exhibitions the scale of which may not be found in Norway.

As part of their bachelor’s project, students are required to operate a model in the school’s wind tunnel. At the time of writing, they are anxiously wondering how the plane will behave, and indeed, if it will remain in one piece when they send it through at speeds and angles it has never before experienced. The starting point is a regular model airplane, which students first scan and thereafter make an electronic 3-D model. They then use a computer-operated cutter in order to make a scaled down version of the plane, which is thereafter installed in a rig in the wind tunnel capable of measuring all the forces in the model. One of last year’s student groups completed data analysis of the same model. Three of this year’s students have therefore chosen to work with wind tunnel experiments in order to crosscheck the results obtained the year before.

One of the students feels that in many ways it is only now while working on his bachelor’s project that he understands not only how much they have learned from the program but also how much more there is to learn. Some of the students are going on to take two more years of either industrial economics or mechatronics in Grimstad. For those students wanting to get out in the workforce, the aeronautical field in Norway is not a large one; on the other hand it is quite varied. Other branches, including the oil industry and consultant firms, have previously hired graduates from the aeronautical engineering program. Several companies have visited the school and introduced themselves to students. Examples of relevant employers include the following:

• Kongsberg Defence Systems: Designs and builds advanced cross-missiles and components for the aeronautical and space industries. Located in Kongsberg.

• Heli-One: The world’s biggest civil helicopter manufacturer, building and maintaining their own and other companies’ helicopters. Located in Stavanger.

• The Air Defence Force: Needs engineers in order to maintain all the new planes and helicopters purchased (F-35, C-130J, NH90). Located in Lillestrøm other areas of the country.

• Airlift: Has started its own design department in order to modify its helicopters. Located in Førde.

• Pratt&Whittney: Has one of Europe’s best workshops for engine overhaul. Located in Stavanger.

• Volvo Aero: Produces parts with incredible accuracy for several of the world’s most used jet engines. Located in Kongsberg.

• Aker Solution, National Oilwell Varco and Hydramarine: Major international suppliers of equipment for the oil industry. Located in Kristiansand.

While several students have already been hired, they first need to complete their bachelor’s thesis.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Filton: En overlykkelig flyklasse beundrer en av de store bragdene innen flyindustrien, Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde.

Great Britain – Land of the Aerospace Engineer All proper educational programmes should contain en excursion, and this might be a real class outing, taking the class far away from school and the nearby surroundings. Therefore when the “aeronautical engineering” class planned their class outing, their choice fell on Great Britain, a true Mecca for any aeronautic-interested student.

The excursion was well planned, and what could have been just a week-end trip to a neighbouring country, soon became a one-week trip around Great Britain! Eager students put their heads together… However, before starting the investigation of what to see on the island, many were a little bit sceptical to the idea of spending one week of valuable study time going to a country most people had already been to. And how would we get around after getting there? We figured that the aeronautical industry worth seeing would be spread around the whole country. But scepticism was turned to optimism when a quick search of the area surrounding London showed that there was a larger aeronautical industry than any Norwegian aeronautic student would have ever dared to dream of! After some quick meetings where everybody’s opinions were heard, the program was settled. With three small rented cars in the true “budget class”, we made our plans for a trip, making no time for taking a break!

We all took off from Sandefjord airport, Torp, in a Boeing 737 from our beloved low-cost company Ryanair. After a rather “bumpy ride”, we found ourselves in Bristol, 260 km along the motorway on a late evening. The next morning we were upat dawn, as we had planned this day around the highlight of the whole trip: a visit to Airbus’ huge main factory in Great Britain. We got our security clearances; everything went smoothly as in a dream, and after having seen and spoken to many quite plain-spoken English engineers about the new A380 and the future A350, we went to see the factory’s famous “veteran artefact”, the Concorde, at Filton. At this very place, one of the well-known prototypes of Concorde, the “002”, was developed in February 1965. One of the majestic crafts used by British Airways from 1976 to 2003, it was a part of the exhibition. From the group working as guide volunteers, we were given “Mr Concorde”, the only man allowed to approve the Concorde flights from Filton airport during its final years before 2003, and one of the first engineers on the program, an elderly man who really knew all the secrets of the aircraft. The two men seemed to understand the commitment of an aeronautical class from Norway, as they had to chase us out of the area after closing time. Even the hideout in cockpit (which some of us were hesitant to leave) was revealed.

Between the “battles”, we also found time for pleasant social gatherings. With us on the trip was one of our lecturers, John T. Conway, and he showed us his former universities and some great urban quarters to visit. City life was tested, and the beer is once again something that will make us return to this island over and over.

The trip continued, and we headed for London again. On the way, we found time for a visit to Rolls-Royce, a hypermodern building housing a factory as well as development and sales departments for the popular jet engines. Next, we made a visit to Eurocopter, a modern elaboration and service capable unit of the European helicopter. Finally, we saw the incredible exhibition of all thinkable aeroplanes from the good old times at Duxford Imperial War Museum. Here we could see and touch t greatness, for example the SR-71, B-52, TSR 2, another Concorde, Spitfire, and a couple of the famous British schedule aeroplanes developed in the 1960’s.

There’s nothing more to say but that this trip was truly one of the best and most interesting we’ve ever taken.. The itinerary was carefully planned, and we actually had to reduce it slightly in order to make time for proper visits to the places we went to see. We, strongly recommend that anyone enrolled in a study programme should make a similar excursion.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the last hundred years mankind has broken the bonds of earth’s gravity and flown high into the atmosphere and beyond. The technological development has made faster and safer aircraft possible. New, creative solutions have been continuously developed, made possible by a better understanding of aerospace physics. The excitement and enjoyment the pioneers must have felt when their ideas proved right must have been indescribable. I studied aerospace engineering at the University of Agder. This education made it possible for me to participate in one of the most interesting development projects in Norway – Naval Strike Missile at Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS.

My work focuses on aerodynamics, which means shaping of fuselage, wings and control surfaces for the missile. Every day requires focus on design details, e.g. how to give an airplane enough lifting capacity, to make it controllable and also how to improve the overall system design. My work is full of opportunities to be creative together with other engineers and to solve complex challenges.

The education in aerospace engineering in Grimstad gives you a good foundation to understand an aircraft or a helicopter as a system of systems. To be able to contribute to the overall design in an effective manner, it is important to see how the different elements in the design functions together. There is a focus on such aspects in the aerospace education program at UiA. I decided to continue studies with a Bachelor’s degree in the USA (4-year degree) and a Master’s degree (additional 1-year), and the 3-year Bachelor degree from UiA made the transition to the American education system easy. The challenges are still substantial in aerospace engineering, since the demands for efficiency and environmentally friendlier air transport are increasing. There are currently many challenging and interesting projects underway for development of more fuel efficient engines and aircraft. Smart engineers with good solutions are in demand!

Jens A. Gjestvang, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My interest for airplanes started already as a 4-year old. I had then seen Norwegian fighter planes fly in low altitude over our home. SInce then I have had an almost "autistic" relationship to airplanes and aerospace engineering. After having completed my military service as a system mechanic on F-16 planes in the Royal Norwegian Air Force and another period in NATO's air force I chose to study Aerospace Engineering at the Agder University College, today known as the University of Agder.

After having completed the 3-year Bachelor degree at UiA full of interesting courses and a Bachelor thesis for RNoAF I started looking for aerospace related work in Norway. There are not a lot of aerospace jobs in Norway, so I realised I had to be active myself in finding an interesting job. I contacted the largest aerospace groups in Norway: RNoAF, SAS, Braathens, Widerøe, Norsk Helikopter and Helikopterservice. Common for all of the companies was a recommendation to start working with purchasing and logistics if I wanted to work in an aerospace related business. During the autumn of 2000 several interesting jobs in this area became available. My choice was Volvo Aero Norway AS which is located in Kongsberg. This is a high-tech company which produces aero space components for approximately 80% of the world's fleet, both civilian and military.

The aerospace industry has a unique focus on quality which gave me a possibility to become familar with systems and routines which are difficult to learn in other industries. In Norway it is only the medical industry which has quality control at he same level. As a purchaser in a global industry I had the opportunity to travel a lot, and at the same time use my knowledge learnt at UiA. Understanding of material technology, aerodynamics to light-weight constructions gave me a solid foundation for my professional career. At the same time I also learnt new topics such as an understanding of finance, production technologies and tools for process improvements. Since the aerospace industry is also relatively small in a global perspective, the opportunities are good for establishing a large global network, and the possibilities of international jobs are large. I have worked myself in France, Switzerland, England and the USA.
After six years in Volvo Aero my family and I wanted to settle in Southern Norway. After a period of learning more about companies in Southern Norway, I decided to start working for National Oilwell Varco in Kristiansand. NOV is a world leading manufacturer of drilling equipment and the largest private employer in Southern Norway. It was natural for me to continue working with purchasing. The advantage of coming from the aerospace industry is familiarity with an international environment, and a high quality standard makes an aerospace engineer equipped with a set of "tools" which open opportunities in other industries. I have never regretted studying aerospace engineering at UiA.

Tor Eide
Procurement Manager, Manufacturing
Rig Solutions, National Oilwell Varco

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Few studies in Norway can offer the same high-flying "lab exercises" as the Aerospace Engineering studies at UiA. An opportunity to frolic in a Cessna-plane at Kjevik airport is definitely such an exercise! - yes, even if the courses in aerospace, avionics and aerodynamics are exciting courses, we conclude that the excursion to Kjevik and the flight with the Cessna is a highlight and definitely a good break compared to a normal day of teaching, says aerospace engineering student Cato Hansen.

- A Cessna-plane is a fun plane used to get someone from point A to B, but also to have fun with, says captain and flight instructor at Kjevik Hans Otto Espegren.
In addition to being a flight instructur he is also a member of the flight club at Kjevik, which owns the Cessna plane which the UiA-students become familiar with during the ”lab exercise”. He explains that the Air Forces and UiA in Grimstad have started a new collaboration which will benefit the students. - We organise an inspiring program with the Aerospace Engineering students for a guided tour, demonstrations and introduction to the instrumentation on the Cessna 172-plane at Kjevik. - To get a solid introduction to how rudders, flaps and all of the instrumentation functions on the Cessna, definitely makes the study program more exciting, says classmate Ken André Vevelstad.

A world of opportunities
Sylvester Djokoto, fellow student from Ghana, says that he and his classmates are privileged students who attend Norway's only Bachelor program in Aerospace Engineering. - With a Bachelor degree in Aerospace Engineering there will be a world of opportunities for you, and you can work almost anywhere. He has stayed four years in Norway, and he has no plans to leave Norway or Grimstad in the short term. - My plan is to continue with a masters degree in Mechatronics at UiA in Grimstad when I finish Aerospace Engineering in 2008, but for those who want to start working after completing a Bachelor in Aerospace Engineering, the opportunities are equally good or better abroad to get an interesting jobb, says Djokoto.

Share: