Session 6 At SOAR By Avembsys

    The day started out late, with the one of our batch mates taking the stage to explain to us, the concepts of C programming namely, bugs. We had a few debatable discussions on some of the programs that he put forth in front of us and we did learn quite a few things on, structurally small but logically huge mistakes that commonly occur during programming.
    As our guide entered we started out by discussing the progress of the project and whether anyone had any new ideas which can be explored, after which we went on discussing about the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), its stages, the time allocated to each stage and why that much time has to be allocated to each one of them.
    Firstly, we discussed about the analysis phase which has three steps, i.e. finding problems, feasibility and requirements. This is the phase in which there is an interaction between the customers and the project handlers. This phase usually involve the domain experts or business analysts who are familiar with both the domains that the customer and the handlers are involved in. Once the need of the customer is understood, then the technical and commercial feasibility is verified and the requirements are put forth. the output of this phase is the SRSD or Software Requirement Specification Document which is given back to the customer for verification of his needs and approval and the customer either responds with a nod for proceeding ahead or with a RFC or Request For Change.
    The next step is the design phase which, as the analysis takes up 10% of the total project time. The design phase involves Top level or high level design and Low Level design. The top level design is responsible for giving a clear overview of the project through algorithm, flowcharts and Block diagrams. The output of which yields a HDD or high level Design Document and the LLD is simply a translation of this document to codes in a relevant language. The  Low level design's output is the Low Level Design Document ( LDD) or Detailed design document (DDD). It is to be kept in mind that the design should be flexible enough to incorporate any changes if necessary and also the codes are to be reusable. So that, if necessary, they can be used for any future projects or for the same project's development.
     The next is the implementation phase which takes up 20% of the total time allocated. This phase involves finding the right hardware (if present) and interfacing the different blocks to yield the complete project. Once the project is done, it moves onto the testing phase which takes up majority of the time span of the project thus to ensure its proper working and hence ready for deployment.
     After the discussion of the SDLC, we again backtracked to our project's progress and discussed about its development. Personally, I feel that we will be able to finish this by the end of next week. Hence another session came to an end with a better understanding of how things work in a corporate world.

Session 5 At SOAR By Avembsys

        The fifth session started out rather late and before the guide coming in, one of our batch mates held the platform discussing about the different branching and looping statements in C programming. The class started with an initial discussion of various project ideas and the stage of the project being currently taken up. This discussion consumed a good amount of time with ideas being bounced back and forth and the students being interested in them.
      After this, we had a ppt presentation from the guide on AVIONICS i.e. Aviation electronics and the different components involved in a commercial and military aircraft. After this we discussed about the different safety estimates that are absolutely necessary for a plane to be commissioned for flight and also different certification agencies that are involved. The discussion then drifted towards the first Indian LCA Tejas and how this is a significant step for the Indian military.
     We then moved on to discussing the different avionics components in detail such as the navigation control, FMS, Military IFF and how crucial it is for the survival of the plane in a foreign airspace although I did not understand how this system is made tamper proof cause one thing that I have seen is that anything can be hacked, if given to the right people with right resources, anyways, moving on, we discussed about other devices included the weather radar installed at the nose, the DME, TCAS, ADF and I was astonished on the amount of redundancy for each of these components thus showing how important these installations are.
    We also discussed about the ELT or emergency location transmitter and the importance of 121.5 MHz frequency. We then moved on to the components involved in military aircrafts and after that, we further discussed about some other organizations that are involved in setting up standards for flight and I was astonished to find IEEE here as well!
     We then saw how coding is done in the industry based on Airbus standards and how detailed it is supposed to be when it is submitted. We also discussed about the EGPWS i.e. enhanced ground proximity warning system and its responsibilities on the plane, its modes and the warnings that it provides to the pilot and finally we talked about the TCAS system and how the surrounding planes are seen and classified on the screen.
     After this we ended the class after viewing the Tejas aircraft once again up close ( on the big screen ;) and also the certificate that was issued for India's First almost completely made Aircraft by CEMILAC. Although the class tended to be a little slower at the start it gained good pace as it proceeded. I am looking forward for the upcoming classes and the surprises that it holds...

Session 4 At SOAR By Avembsys

Today's class was an interesting one, it was scheduled at 3 and started with the discussion of the project that were assigned to us. After this we discussed about the evolution of aircraft, ranging from a man who covered himself with feathers and jumped off the eiffel tower to Leonardo Da Vinci's Ornithopter to the flyer by Orville and Wilbur wright.
    We then talked about the different classification of aircraft based on various criteria including the space they operate in( aircraft/spacecraft), propulsion, crew, wings, type of wings, landing mode, engines, number of engines, functions and also special types which includes reconnaissance, AWACS, MAV, Aerial refueling, VTOLs and stealth. We also discussed briefly about the Bermuda Triangle.
    We then did a case study on the Avianca Flight 052 which was a regularly scheduled flight from Bogota to New York. The plane crashed as it was made to wait a long time and ran out of fuel. Personally I feel that it was due to the lack of complete communication between the different ATCs and also others contributors included Very bad weather and heavy traffic at the JFK airport and also Captain's inability to understand english.
    We then discussed about the ILS system that stands for Instrument Landing System which is installed on every airport to guide the plane to the centre of the runway. We studied about the vertical and horizontal guidance system and also Omer's insight of the 2 frequencies it uses namely 90Hz and 120Hz was helpful for further understanding of the working of the ILS.
    During the discussion we were advised to give keen attention to the conversation between the ATC and the Co-pilot and although most of the conversion were in numbers which, don't know about others, I didn't understand much other than the speed and altitude conversations. Although I am eager to learn more on what all they actually discuss during their conversations with further understanding of the field.
     With that I conclude today's blog on the 4th session and looking forward to the next.
Until next time,
Good Night.

Session 3 at SOAR By Avembsys

         Today's session started with the fundamentals of physics such as momentum, speed, velocity, moment and this was particularly helpful as I had a long time doubt on the difference between moment and momentum. We further discussed about density, and viscosity and then moved on to pressure, their types and how it is used in calculation of the airspeed of a plan (pitot tube).

       Coming to different terminologies used in aerospace, we first discussed about the various altitudes and the standards pertaining to pressure, density, temperature and speed of sound. We later moved on to the attitude ie. The angle of the aircraft with respect to the horizon. Finishing with attitude, we moved on for discussing about the mach number and their terminologies at different mach numbers.

       After the terminologies, we then came to the different concepts involved in keeping the plane in air ie. the lift, drag and thrust. We also discussed about the different parts of the plane including the cockpit, fuselage, the allerons, flaps, slats, spoilers, rudders, vertical and horizontal stabilizers. Although I knew about most of the parts, I got to learn something new such as the spoilers, flaps and slats and how they are used to maneuver the plane and also to change the lift of the plane.

      We then discussed about the different criteria needed for for flight such as the lift coefficient and my favorite, stalling after which, Mr. Faizan asked us whether we had any doubts and that is when were able to discuss about the air pockets, cloud bursts and how it affects the plane. After this we dispersed for lunch for about 30 minutes.

      In the second half we first started out with project ideas. The students of EC and EEE were given a introductory project on microcontrollers and a software based project was handed over to the IS and CS department. After the discussion on the projects, we were shown a video on the maiden flight of Airbus - the first of its kind to use fly by wire mechanism wherein the pilot does not have direct control over the plane ie. the pilot flies a computer and the computer flies the plane, thus overwriting any commands given by the pilot, when the computer feels that it will hamper the plane, and how the crash took place, although we were looking forward on finding out what the air crash investigators concluded. After this we discussed about the VTOLs acronym for Vertical Take Off and Landings and also we saw a video on how the engine moves in these kind of planes.

    Thus the 3rd session of SOAR came to an end with a lot of people bumbling about the project that they're going to be involved in and their roles in the project.