Avion Issue 4 Spring 2020

Issue 4 | Volume 153 | February 25, 2020

A B C D

Campus Industry & Technology Sports Motorsports

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Daytona Beach, Florida theavion.com | (386) 226-6049

Embry-Riddle Ice Hockey Senior Send-off SPORTS // C3 Daytona 300, 500, and Presidential Visit MOTORSPORTS // D1

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A2 Campus Executive Board

Editor-in-Chief Vipul Telang

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News Editor

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Photo Editor

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Staff Advisor Ronnie Mack

Assistant Director of Orientation & Communications

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Navigating a Career in Aerospace

Brandon Etwarroo Copy Editor On Feb. 20, 2020, Tamaira Ross (a Blue Origin Configuration Design Engineer and keynote speaker for engineering week) gave a presentation on new ways to think about the industry, how business affects the industry, reducing costs of launch vehicles and general advice for the students at Embry-Riddle.

Career Ross started her career in Boeing working on commercial airplanes. Some notable ones she mentioned were the Boeing 777, Boeing 767, and the Boeing 737.

After a while, Ross transferred to The Boeing Company's Defense, Space & Security business unit. In that unit, Ross worked on satellites and military aircraft programs.

Also, while she worked for Boeing, Ross helped the company enter into the small satellite market. Currently, Ross works for Blue Origin and has been working on their new orbital launch vehicle program, New Glenn.

Thinking in Terms of Systems Compared to others in the aerospace field, Ross has a different way of viewing the industry. She states that the industry is more than how well your project can fly. It's all about how your plan works in a system. The four main parts of the commercial air system are: how

and where you manufacture the project, how you launch it, how well it works with the environment it flies in, and how it works with the landing. For example, planes have to deal with the size of airports, the size of gates, and dense airspace.

Rockets have similar main parts of the system they operate in; how and where you manufacture it, how you launch it, how you run it, and how you recover it.

This is also the main reason why there isn’t a flurry of advances in the industry. As a society, systems and regulations have been built around these technologies. So new advancements must be able to operate in the constraints that are already in place, in addition to providing dramatic improvements to what is already available.

Business and Engineering The world of engineering and business are not mutually exclusive.

Ross uses the example of building a project. In the beginning, you don't spend very much, and when you do spend money, it's usually for key personnel. However, with that decision, you have locked in a lot of costs. You can do that well, or you can do that poorly. If you did it poorly, you end up with a cost overrun (going over budget).

That cost overrun only gets worse, depending on your follow-up decisions. If you did it well, you can maintain a healthy budget and perhaps spend less than projected.

Reducing Cost In Ross’ view, the industry follows a repeating circle of high launch cost, a low technical risk spacecraft, and a vehicle being replaced infrequently. What she wishes to do is change the loop to low launch cost, more frequent launches, more spacecraft in orbit, and vehicles being replaced frequently. To do this, Ross believes that rockets should become increasingly available, reducing operations and maintenance costs, get more useful life out of the vehicle, and increasing the scale/ building vehicles more often.

Advice for Embry-Riddle Students At the end of her presentation, Ross had input on the future of the industry. She wants us to expand our knowledge and never stop learning. This means to learn different engineering languages and find connections between them.

She also believes it's essential to broaden your experience in the system in which you work. Not only learning the business aspect of the industry, but also the finances and how to handle budgets. She also offers advice from her mentor Don Tracy. You will make everyone a little unhappy. Engineers working on different parts of a project will want different things. It would be best if you found compromises to get the best out of everyone.

Page Editors

MSA’s Cultural Unification

Gianna Castano Correspondent This past Wednesday, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) partnered with the Center for Faith and Spirituality to host a monthly event where students of different cultures and religions mingle and bond over food and conversations about their respective communities.

This month, the members of MSA prepared classic dishes: Kabsa(chicken breast laid on top of a bed of tasty seasoned yellow rice with carrots and other vegetables), chicken kebabs, beef kebabs, Baklava (a traditional dessert that contains layers of stringy and flaky filo dough), chopped nuts with a topping of honey or chocolatey coating, Arabic coffee, and an assortment of fresh fruit.

After attendees grabbed a plate, piled with a hefty serving of food, they sat down and introduced themselves to others – friends, acquaintances, or strangers. Reverend Keck encouraged conversations about Islam and open-ended discussions. The COA atrium was

filled with laughter, smiles, and great conversations that entailed learning and appreciation of Muslim cultures.

Towards the closing of the event, Reverend Keck showed gratitude for the hard work that the Muslim Student Association put in to prepare for this event and consequently make it a success. Additionally, Reverend Keck told a story of how a pilot calmed down a flight attendant who was worried about a passenger that exhibited some odd behavior.

The pilot calmly asked her what the man looked like and what he was doing. The flight attendant replied that he had a symbol on his arm, a black hat with black attire, long curly hair, and was whispering while rocking back and forth in his seat. The pilot explained that the man was Jewish and that he was completing his daily prayer. This story showcases a valuable lesson on how having a basic education in different religions and customs can resolve a minor misunderstanding or a nerve-racking situation. Revered Keck then welcomed students to

Gianna Castano/ The Avion Newspaper

Cover Editor Alani Seaman Campus Editors Sarah Fairchild Oliver Du Bois Salim Roig Eric Lu Brandon Etwaroo Industry Editors Alex Lee Victoria Jordan Oliver Du Bois Sports Editors Connor Adair Brandon Etwarroo Alani Seaman Motorsports Editors Vipul Telang Alani Seaman Comics Editor Alex Lee Copy Editors Chirag Mehrotra Brandon Etwarroo Sarah Fairchild

Contributors Reporters Photographers

Vipul Telang Alani Seaman Oliver Du Bois Korbin Martin Brandon Etwaroo Gianna Castano Sarah Fairchild

Vipul Telang Alani Seaman Connor Adair Korbin Martin Gianna Castano Sarah Fairchild

Correspondents

Gianna Castano/ The Avion Newspaper

stay, keep the conversation going, and take home some food for leftovers.

Be on the lookout for the next Dinner and Dialogue: Wednesday, March 25 – and know that you are always welcome to stop by the Center for Faith and Spirituality for more details!

Gianna Castano/ The Avion Newspaper

Sean Murphy, Eric Lu, Chaz Pokracki, Chris Elwell, Megan Fletcher, Gabby Sanchez, Carmen Thea, Jessica Derby, William Shelstad, Weerachet Sinlapanuntakul

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 1200 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.

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Campus A3 Dinner & Dialogue

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A4 Campus

The Road to AMC: Composites composite events.

Sarah Fairchild Chief Copy Editor The next pitstop on the road to AMC is in the composite structures’ lab. Sharing half of the room with the sheet metal workshop, the composite side consists of two long rows of tables with a blue protective covering placed over them. Gloves in this class are a must, as students will be handling a myriad of chemicals and epoxy resins throughout the semester.

Fondly dubbed the “arts and crafts” class by AMS undergraduates, the composites lab is the place where students will mold an airfoil from heavy foam blocks and overlay it with fiberglass. Later in the semester, each student will spray on a clear coat of paint to seal the fiberglass and protect the airfoil from outside elements.

Composite Repair Hosted by Abaris Training, the composite repair event involves a team of two to read a job card informing them of the proper procedures in the composite layup process. As one teammate begins to calculate the resistance of the heat blanket and the correct resin mixture ratio, the other will be cutting out the repair ply, making sure to note the direction of the fill and warp edges. The competitors need to then complete the vacuum bagging process by layering peel ply’s, breathers, bleeders, and vacuum sealant in the proper order.

Sarah Fairchild/The Avion Newspaper

Student Mathias Berdugo completing the carbon fiber layup on the sandwich structure panel.

Sarah Fairchild/The Avion Newspaper

Vacuum bagged and sealed composite repairs curing in the composite lab oven.

Additionally, they will perform a composite repair: building a carbon fiber, honeycomb sandwich structure layup only for Professor Billette (the AMS department’s foremost authority and sole teacher of composites) to damage it and have them fabricate a repair. The repair is then vacuum bagged and placed in a large oven to cure over a few hours. The patch must be adequately formed, as a mistake in the layup could result in the project warping when placed into the oven. Factors such as proper resin ratio and the fill and warp bias of the fabric must be accounted for.

At this year’s 2020 Aviation Maintenance Competition, competitors will be showing their skills in similar

assembly. Done via a virtual reality simulator, one team member will be ‘painting’ an aircraft wing surface. Results are shown in real-time so spectators can witness where the paint was applied too heavily or not heavily enough. Meanwhile, the other four competitors will be working together to re-seal a section of a glass panel, and fasten the repair with Hi-Lok pins and a glass plug.

Last Saturday, Feb. 15, AMC candidates met for one final time before teams were officially announced and performed a series of events nearly identical to the ones they would be facing at this year’s competition. One such event was the aforementioned composite repair. In rotations of two, the team hopefuls proceeded to demonstrate their ability to perform under the stress of a time clock and a judge. But thanks to the diligent teachings of Professor Billette, none of the competitors warped under pressure.

The AMC Team Members: Team 1: Tristan Anderson Christopher Lambert Brendan Rahill Paul Wittee Harrison Beard

Sarah Fairchild/The Avion Newspaper

Completed carbon fiber, honeycomb sandwich structure layup, waiting to be vacuum bagged and cured.

Paint and Wing Sealant A five-person event with three separate sections was created by PPE to test this year’s competitors on their skills with painting, the use of wing sealant, and repairing a frame

Team 2: Tristan Anderson Christopher Lambert Brendan Rahill Paul Wittee Harrison Beard Backups: Genesis Colon Christian Wood Reade Allen

Wild Ginger Food Review Vipul Telang & Oliver Du Bois Editor-in-Chief & News Editor Wild Ginger, which opened in November of last year, is located in Tomoka Town Center near LPGA and Williamson next to Barnes & Noble. Wild Ginger has a variety of foods from the southeastern region of Asia, including Chinese, Japanese, and Thai cuisines.

Tonkotsu Ramen For one of our entrees, we ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen. The dish, which originates from the Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan, is made with pork broth and is served with sliced pork belly and other toppings. My ramen was served with bean sprouts, bamboo shoot, green onions, fish cake, and a soft-boiled egg. The portion was large enough to be a sharable dish. The broth was flavorful, and the pork belly was very tender and not chewy.

Poke Bowl

We also ordered the poke bowl, which is a Hawaiian dish consisting of raw fish served either on a bed of sushi rice, or mixed salad with assorted toppings. We chose raw tuna for an entree with cucumber, seaweed salad, and crispy nori (seaweed) as my toppings, but they have a selection of up to five toppings.

Sashimi and Sushi Combination For another sharable entree, we decided on the Sashimi and Sushi Combination platter, which came with a Green Salad. Sushi, originating from paddy fields in the Muromachi period of Japan, is a dish containing a slice of raw fish, veg-

etables, or eggs, garnishing a bed of cooked rice. The meal included a sampling of four types of fish, which were laid across beds of rice: tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and striped bass.

The helpings of fish were more than generous and were freshly-caught.

We also received a tuna roll as well, which featured the delicious tuna placed in a ball of rice wrapped in seaweed.

A personal favorite of ours, sashimi, which originated from the Japanese courts in the Heian period, is a dish comprised of raw slices of fish without any garnishing. The sashimi was also an integral part of the platter, with two large slices of tuna and salmon draped on the plate. The fish was amazing, and we only wanted more after the first bite.

Overall, this platter was a fantastic choice of high quality and plenty of food for two people to share.

Vipul Telang/The Avion Newspaper

The dining room has a modern look including a projected koi pond image

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Campus A5

Vipul Telang/The Avion Newspaper

The Sushi and Sashimi Combination Platter Lunch Special

Red Bean Mochi For dessert, we split a red bean mochi, a ball of sweet rice dough encased around red bean ice cream, and covered in powdered sugar. This mochi was a perfect way to end the night, as the dish practically melted in our mouths upon taking the first bite.

At a Glance Hours: Mon - Thurs: 11:00 - 22:00 Fri - Sat: 11:00 - 23:00 Sun: 12:00 - 22:00 Our Recommendations: Tuna Poke Bowl Sashimi & Sushi Combination Red Bean Mochi

Vipul Telang/The Avion Newspaper

The Tonkotsu Ramen included pieces of pork belly, bean sprouts, and two fish cakes

Megan Fletcher Correspondent

Spanx CEO Highlights Synapse Conference

Sara Blakely, CEO and founder of Spanx, packed the stands and gave entrepreneur advice to startups on the second day of the Synapse Summit 2020 Conference at Amalie Arena last Wednesday.

Blakely is a Clearwater water native who resides in Atlanta and founded the billion-dollar shaping briefs and leggings company in 2000.

Her childhood shaped her to become who she is today, and she believes you can take her out of Clearwater Beach, but can’t take the Clearwater Beach out of her.

“Being so closely connected to the water was a huge gift in my life,” said Blakely. “In my childhood, I had a lot of independence growing up. I would be out on the sailboat or canoeing at a young age, and that gave me so much independence because I would do that after school a lot. I had a lot of free time growing up too, so I used my imagination to make up games and connect with nature.”

The feminine principles she honors within herself come from her being vulnerable in a male-dominated business world.

Furthermore, she believes there should be a balance between masculine and feminine principles because without that there is war and no creation. War has been inherently seen as male-dominated, but creation has always involved both genders. Balancing both masculine and feminine energy would be a key milestone in the business industry.

“I believe there is feminine and

masculine energy in each one of us, and the balance of this in business is important and has been missing, said Blakely. “When I first started Spanx, I was at a cocktail party in Atlanta, and a couple of guys came up to me and they said Sara ‘we saw you in the Atlanta paper that you were inventing something’ and I was all excited and said ‘yes I am.’ Then one guy looked at me and said, ‘you know business is war.”

Women have only come to play a role in business in the last 40 years.

Blakely urged all entrepreneurs to seek passion and tell a story to connect others like how she has been honoring the feminine principles in herself.

“

I have never wanted to annihilate the competition. I just went about it and have followed intuition. I use vulnerability and empathy for the consumer.

“

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A6 Campus

“People connect with your story. I took on billion-dollar industries with a story, and I was very connected to my why,” said Blakely. If the why is greater than yourself, you will have more energy and more passion on the days you want to give up. My courage comes from my why and my why is to elevate women on the planet, honor the women

that came before me that didn’t have the chance I had, and even the women on the planet now that don’t have the chance I have. A quick way to find out your why for yourself is looking at what makes you cry and what makes you feel bad. That’s probably something you feel deeply about.”

To further connect her story to others, she will intentionally embarrass herself and practice vulnerability.

“As an adult, I will intentionally embarrass myself and if a certain amount of time goes by where I’m like ‘I haven’t been really embarrassed lately,’ then I got to go do that. If you can make a mistake, what’s the worst that will happen?

You’ll become memorable. I chose vulnerability in my path from the very start,” said Blakely.

Blakely also uses vulnerability on her Instagram to show embarrassing moments like the time she wore her dress backward on “Good Morning America.”

“One of the things I realized is that a lot of people were putting on a highly filtered version themselves, and I decided if I’m going to do Instagram, I don’t want to do that. I want to show the ups, the downs, the vulnerable moments, and the struggles,” said Blakely.

Blakely urged the entrepreneurs and listeners at Synapse to pursue things they are passionate about even if they don’t know much about it because it may benefit them in the long run.

“The trick is to pursue something you don’t know how it’s supposed to be done. You have to work on the mindset, said Blakely. I have

self-doubt to this day, but if you can get over the self-doubt part and pursue something you have no experience in, you’ll probably come across something revolutionary and do something different.”

Photo Courtesy/Ben Rollins

Sara Blakely, CEO and founder of Spanx, is a feminist icon in the business world

Florida is a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship and the Synapse Summit 2020 Conference brought all these startups together. Over 7,200 registered participants came to Amalie Arena for two days to meet, explore, network, and make deals. Starter Studio, a resident sponsor for the Embry-Riddle (ERAU) MicaPlex Research Park, attended the conference.

Hopefully, next year, we will see a few startup companies from ERAU represent at Synapse 2021.

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Campus A7

Retired Chairman of Alaska Air Group Flies In Brandon Etwarroo Copy Editor On Feb. 11, 2020, William S. Ayer, the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Alaska Air Group, arrived on campus to deliver a speech to students, faculty, and the general public about his experience in the aviation industry.

With over three decades of experience, Ayer had a lot to say about leadership, horizontal movement in a company, culture, structural vs. cyclical change, and general advice to those wishing to join the aviation industry.

Important Qualities of Leadership Ayer discussed qualities that he picked up throughout his career which he thought were necessary for a leader. In particular, he spoke about the importance of communication, the balance between optimism and realism, collaboration, resilience, and the planning and executing of ideas.

Ayer thinks that communication should be transparent and plainspoken. He believes it is essential to be optimistic about a business, but he also feels that if you’re not realistic about a situation, there will be problems that are never solved.

Since the aviation industry is a complicated business, Ayer thinks that collaboration is vital. He warns that a downside of collaboration is not being able to ask hard ques-

tions and bring up issues because it might hurt or strain relationships.

Ayer explained the importance of resiliency in any business. There will be inevitable downfalls, so being willing to accept failure, learn from it, and move on is an important quality. Lastly, he discussed how to balance planning and executing ideas. The three variables that control this situation are quality, timeframe, and decisions.

While there should be time to plan, Ayer expressed that it is important to push people on execution for things to get done.

Moving Horizontally in a Company Ayer explained that he never had a formal mentor; instead, he spent time with and learned from his boss. To make the most of it, Ayer said yes whenever presented with an opportunity. Ayer said that if you know someone is going to move up in the hierarchy of the company, move them laterally first. This way, the employee will have a better understanding of how the company works and will make connections throughout the different divisions.

Culture for Customers and Employees Ayer values the culture of the Alaska Air Group highly. He values it so much that he believes that culture eats strategy for breakfast.

He divides culture into two parts.

The first part deals with the culture concerning the customers, and the second part deals with the culture with respect to the employees.

When it comes to the customers, Ayer prides that Alaska Air Group is high tech and engages with technological advances very frequently. He is also very proud of the on-time performance and the safety of the company. On the employee’s side, Ayer is delighted by the communication between the higher-ups and the employees.

He feels that there is a neighborly atmosphere between everyone in the company, which makes communication very easy.

Structural vs. Cyclical Change There was a time in the history of the Alaska Air Group where everything was going smoothly; profits were up, people were happy, etc.

Ayer admits that they got full of themselves. So, when they lost profitability one year, it was believed to be a fluke. But when they looked into the problems, they found out

that the issues were much more structural than they wanted to admit. Once they acknowledged the problem, they were able to fix the problem and return to profitability.

The point of this story is to show the audience that not all factors are external. Some issues are internal and need to be fixed with effort, hard work, and heartache. By the end of it, you’ll have a direction, a guiding “North Star” as Ayer describes it, to follow to get back on track to success.

General Advice Before ending his lecture, Ayer had general advice that he wanted to impart to the students. He wishes students to keep their eyes out for opportunities. When opportunities are found, he wants students to say “yes!” to them. He thinks it would be beneficial for students to find people that they can learn absolutely anything from. Finally, he wants people to ask questions. No one person can know everything, but people can continuously learn.

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A8 Campus Emerging Ventures

Carmen Thea Correspondent

When’s the last time you went on a real adventure? How would you feel spending a weekend in the woods with strangers? It might sound sketchy, but in reality, there is a lot that can come out of meeting new students in a low-stress environment. Many college students forget that it is not impossible to take a break from the stressful climate of classes and clubs and enjoy life.

The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) is a selective program run by The Office of Student Engagement for leadership development. Students are selected by faculty and staff to attend a weekend retreat, and two workshops throughout the year, to learn about what makes a great leader. Along with this, students learn ways to become a better leader and member of the community from mentors who are currently leading school organizations!

What does leadership development have to do with being in the woods? The answer is simple; it is important to connect with the people around you. Being able to make long-lasting relationships can help in both the professional world and here at Embry-Riddle.

You never know who the person next to you might become, and most importantly, you never know who you might end up becoming life-long friends with. While being in the woods is an extreme case of meeting new people, it can serve as a metaphor for life itself.

Students who participate in ELP receive many benefits from participating in the program, many of

which continue to influence them for the rest of their lives. Students get free admission to the Student Leadership conference, many leadership connections in the school, new friendships, a leadership retreat, and leadership training that can help them in any future career.

This fantastic program would be impossible without the help of the exceptional staff, Sean Murphy, Kristen Rosati, and Eric Watkins.

Sean Murphy, the Assistant Director for Leadership & Civic Engagement, has much to say about his passion for running ELP. “The Emerging Leaders Program retreat is my favorite weekend of the school year! I get to meet so many up-and-coming leaders and really get to know them for who they are as people. These are the students who will go on to lead clubs, head significant projects, and truly change the world.

To be able to offer some insight into leadership styles and methods is truly an honor, as these students are already bright individuals who have achieved so much; their continued growth and development is so important, and I am blessed to play even a small role in that. The genuine connections that are formed on the retreat and throughout the program lead to lifelong friendships and bonds that transcend boundaries, and I truly love being able to continue to support Emerging Leaders from each and every year of the program!”

It is almost impossible to explain how such deep relationships can be formed in just three days, but as emerging leaders, students learn

Photo Courtesy/Sean Murphy

Group Photo from the Emerging Leaders Program 2019

that they are never alone. It is tradition to hold bonfires every night.

This is one of the times during the program when students get to dig deep and form those long-lasting connections. One student who was part of ELP this semester claims “The bonfires were an opportunity to relax and really get to know the people who we never thought we would get to meet and connect with.”

The truth is that these deep conversations do not end once the retreat is over. Many times, the students who take part in this program end up connecting in var-

ious clubs, classes, and projects.

The Student Leadership Conference is another opportunity, open to all students, to learn more about how to get involved and become a better leader. If you look around campus, you can find Emerging Leaders everywhere. Sometimes it just takes one small step to open up a world of opportunities, and there is no better way to explain the real impact of ELP than to see the change in students who have become outstanding leaders in the community.

Alani Seaman/The Avion Newspaper

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B2 Technology

Embry-Riddle Alumni Capt. Michael Brewer lands in Daytona Korbin Martin & Chaz Pokracki Staff Reporters Embry-Riddle graduate Captain Michael Brewer is the #3 pilot for the USAF Thunderbirds. Brewer graduated from the Embry-Riddle Prescott campus in 2005. During his time at Embry-Riddle, Brewer spent four years on the Golden Eagles Flight Team.

The Thunderbirds landed at KDAB at roughly 4 p.m. This was a few hours ahead of the upcoming Daytona 500. The Thunderbirds conducted a flyover of the Daytona International Speedway before the race started. This has been a NASCAR tradition that has existed since 1960, just one year after the speedway opened.

The Avion Newspaper got the opportunity to see the Thunderbirds up close as they landed. Avion Staff Photographer Chaz Pokracki said that it was "Very fun to get up close.

I've always considered jets to be really cool, and so to get an up-close and personal look was a real pleasure. Meeting the people who get to fly them and learning about their lives was very special."

Once all six of the Thunderbirds landed and the pilots were ready, the media had the opportunity to meet and interview the pilots. The Avion Newspaper interviewed #3 Captain Michael Brewer, the Right Wing for the Thunderbirds.

AN: What is your favorite thing about the F16?

MB: It's a powerful aircraft that is

very fun to fly. One of the things that really makes it special is that it has a very high thrust to weight ratio which allows you to point the nose pretty much anywhere.

Fast Fact: The F-16 boasts an impressive thrust to weight ratio of 1.096, beating out the F-22 (1.090), F-15(1.04), and the F-35(0.87).

AN: In your career in the Air Force, how many different aircraft have you flown?

MB: When I started, I flew the Diamond Katana for IFS. Then I flew the T-6, T-38, and then when I moved to the tactical world after pilot training, I got to move to the F-15E. Most of my flight time is in the F-15E, that's where I started, until now with the F16.

Fast Fact: Captain Brewer has logged over 5,000 flight hours and boasts over 1,000 hours in the F-15E. AN: What’s your favorite aviation related memory?

MB: Oh my gosh, I've got a lot of them. One of the most surreal moments is a very early morning flight, it's pre-dawn and it's dark out, and sometimes you're upset because you're up so early, but then when you're flying and you watch the sunrise over the horizon, and it's just peaceful and quiet that is probably one of the best moments in flying.

Chaz Pokracki/The Avion Newspaper

AN: Tell us about your career as a pilot. How did you start your career as a fighter jet pilot?

MB: My path is a little bit different.

I graduated high school in 2001 in Chicago. I had my private pilot's license when I left there. Then I went to Embry-Riddle Prescott in 2001. I did all my licenses out there, and then when I left Embry-Riddle Prescott, I was a flight instructor for about six months, then I flew part 135 bank mail for another six months. Then I was an airline pilot for about five years. While I was

flying for the airlines, this kick to do something awesome and big happened, and I joined the Air Force.

The Thunderbirds website says that once Captain Brewer joined the Air Force, he went to Maxwell Air Force Base in 2010, where he was commissioned. Following flight training, Captain Brewer served as an F15E pilot, and his assignment before the Thunderbirds was Flight Commander of the 334th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

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Technology B3

Eric Lu/The Avion Newspaper

Chaz Pokracki/The Avion Newspaper

Eric Lu /The Avion Newspaper

Chaz Pokracki/The Avion Newspaper

Korbin Martin/The Avion Newspaper

Eric Lu /The Avion Newspaper

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B4 Technology

Campus Groups: Engaging Experience?

Jessyca, Pitch, and William are students in the Research in User eXperience (RUX) Lab in the Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiogy RUX investigates the usability and user experience of technology in our everyday world. This is a regular column that explores different technologies typically used by Embry-Riddle students.

The CampusGroups Homepage

Jessyca Derby & William Shelstad Graduate Researchers Weerachet “Pitch” Sinlapanuntakul Undergraduate Researcher Being a part of student organizations is a part of campus life. College students join clubs that they are interested in and bond with students that have similar interests. These student organizations want to reach out to as many students as possible and to engage with the campus at large.

Student organizations usually have some social media or online presence like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even Discord to advertise themselves. Embry-Riddle provides organizations a way to engage with students through CampusGroups in both website and mobile applications. CampusGroups is a platform that organizations, departments, and students can use to join groups, communicate, and adver-

tise events. Students can join organizations they are interested in and receive updates about club events.

CampusGroups was implemented during the Fall 2019 semester and replaced Connections. But what do students and organization leaders think about CampusGroups, and how do they use it? To answer this question, the RUX lab conducted interviews with five campus leaders as well as an SGA student employee.

An SGA Perspective Abrielle Otero- Student Program & Usability Intern in SGA- handles troubleshooting, feature selection, and the organization of CampusGroups as a whole, and is the “go-to” girl for any questions students have about CampusGroups. According to her, CampusGroups has two primary uses: to help club leaders manage their organizations and to help students join organizations on campus.

The desktop version of the website helps club leaders since it has a host of features. Among them are an email builder that can send out email reminders at a specific time, a social media-like feed (for your organization as well as SGA, and Embry-Riddle in general), information about volunteering opportunities, survey creation, a public website for your organization, budget packets, dues collection, information about funding, and much more. The app, however, is more useful to members of the organization, as it doesn’t include all of the same features as the website and was created around receiving notifications, looking at feeds, and finding out information about student organizations.

Even though CampusGroups includes lots of features - many of them are underutilized. As Abrielle explained, “the feeds would be really cool, especially when we [SGA] want feedback, but people don’t

Image Courtesy/Jessyca Derby

really use that.” She also mentioned that many organizations are not using the website feature, which allows club leaders to create an organization website that people who may not have a CampusGroups account, like incoming students or parents, can view. Some features work great, such as the budgeting section of the website. However, Abrielle admitted that some of the features of the site could be finicky. We wanted to learn what works well and what doesn’t, according to club leaders.

Club Leaders’ Perspective We asked several club leaders about the reasons they started using CampusGroups. We found out that the reasons they started using it were to manage the budget, communicate with club members through built-in emails, and to post CONTINUED ON B5 >>

Because of the number of functions that CampusGroups offers, and that all clubs are located in one place, many club leaders saw this as useful. However, they agreed that there is room for improvement, such as within the budgeting area of the site and getting students to engage more with CampusGroups.

Our Recommendations

Image Courtesy/William Shelstad

CampusGroups Website and App Features

<< CONTINUED FROM B4 on a feed regarding general information and upcoming events. In their viewpoints, CampusGroups is a tool that centralizes organizations for students to explore and join and for clubs to communicate with their members effectively. Although the CampusGroups mobile application seems to be more convenient than the web browser for club members, some club leaders did not realize the app’s existence. Furthermore, the app does not offer the full operation for clubs compared to the website, so club leaders preferred the website platform. They also mentioned that club members do not check the organization’s feed and website, but instead mostly join CampusGroups to receive club emails.

When asked about the ease of use and functions that needed improvements, they found the site somewhat easy to navigate and use but experienced some confusion when searching for clubs and using the budgeting feature. Searching for clubs is cumber-

some due to many unnecessary buttons and steps required to perform a task. The budgeting feature, once on the correct page, shows a lot of useful information. However, club leaders said it’s challenging to reach the right page and see feedback about their Budget packet.

Even though there are some issues with these features, most club leaders reported that budgeting is one of the two most frequently used features with built-in email being the other. One of the club leaders liked the email feature that can track who has opened or read the emails. Club leaders thought that budget packets were confusing, but there is no alternative to access and manage the money function. Another one of the club leaders also said, “I tried to make events when CampusGroups first came out. But then, I realized that people aren’t looking at them.” The main problem appears to be the number of “active” users as every product needs user feedback to improve and develop.

Image Courtesy/Jessyca Derby

It is difficult to tell who the “Notes” feature on budget packets is meant for; Is it meant for administrators to leave comments or for students?

Based on what students thought, we have created some recommendations for CampusGroups. Firstly, many issues could be solved if the “My Clubs” menu at the bottom of the homepage moved to the top. Many people noted that it took too many steps to find their club page because, instead of scrolling to the bottom of the homepage, they would click on the “My Groups” button on the left side menu and would have to enter additional information there.

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Technology B5

what each of the different options did.

These labels should be updated, but a proper usability test of the website will be needed to help change these labels to be more precise for club leaders and other users.

Conclusion Overall, student leaders feel that CampusGroups is useful but underutilized by both themselves and students.

Leaders liked being able to communicate with their members quickly through emails but did not like the difficulty of using some features on the website. We have been told by SGA that there are resources to help student org officers use CampusGroups, such as this website https://campusgroups.erau.edu/rso/home/. CampusGroups will need a more in-depth test of its usability to provide more recommendations for improvement.

Image Courtesy/Jessyca Derby

Current placement of “My Groups” on the homepage and suggested new placement.

Just by doing something as simple as moving a list, people would be able to recognize where they need to go and save time. Another solution would be to provide a way for users to customize the homepage, which would allow them to place and move sections that are important to them.

There are some confusing labels on the site like “My Clubs and My Groups, Validate and Approve, Accounting book and Budget” may sound similar, and some group leaders were unsure

CampusGroups has potential but would need more engagement from students to make the most out of it. As Abrielle explained, SGA is always looking for recommendations for new features or changes for CampusGroups, “it’s our oyster; we can do whatever we need it to.”

Feel free to email Abrielle at otera3@ my.erau.edu if you have any suggestions for CampusGroups!

Alani Seaman/The Avion Newspaper

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C2 Sports

The Eagles: Making History Embry-Riddle’s Record Breaking Win

Megan Fletcher Correspondent

tum in the first half when Gintaras Bartaskas, junior guard, subbed in at 7:06, which resulted in his two steals Romeo Crouch, junior guard, and six rebounds. Bartaskas assisted blazed the way for Embry-Riddle by Saint Leo in an 11-2 run, including his scoring 39 points, the second-most three-pointer at the 4:11 mark. in a game program history, to help defeat Saint Leo 108-91 in a rematch Sunshine State Conference (SCC) men’s basketball game on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the ICI Center.

Crouch shot 13-for-18 from the floor, including a 9-for-14 effort from the three as well as contributing six assists, three rebounds, and two steals, improving his season average to 19.1 points per game. Now, he is ranked second on the single-season list with 101 made three-pointers.

“He had his game face on tonight, and it was like ‘I’m not going to be stopped.’ I thought we fed off of him. He is a really special player and kid,” said head coach Ridder.

The Eagles also broke the single-game record with 22 made Chris Elwell/The Avion Newspaper three-pointers with shooting 54 percent from three (22-for-41), Jenkins stopped the Lions run with breaking the previous record of 21 his three-pointer at the 2:50 mark three-pointers on Nov. 23, 2010, at and pushed the Eagles to a nineFlorida College. point lead in the first half.

The Eagles defended their home Crouch’s hot hand continued in turf against the Lions to now bring the second half with a good laytheir home record to 14-1. up within the first 20 seconds. Nick In the first half, the two teams were Heard, a sophomore guard, had neck and neck with ERAU leading four threes while Crouch added 16-11 less than four minutes into the three more from deep to score a game. Elijah Jenkins scored the first combined total of 21 points in the three-pointer of the night at 19:20 second half. to help set the tone of the night.

“I think as a point guard, my team Crouch followed Jenkins’s momen- feeds off of me, so the energy that tum and brought 6-for-8 from deep. I give them is the energy that is This led the Eagles to gain their larg- shown on the court,” said Crouch. est lead in the first half of 15 at the “Everybody was locked in tonight, 7:09 mark. and everybody was ready to play.”

The Lions started to gain momenAt the 11:27 mark, the Eagles

started to get into foul trouble, and Kyran McClure, a senior guard for Saint Leo, went 3-for-3 from the freethrow line off a foul by the Eagles.

Isaiah Hill, a senior guard, followed with two more free-throw points, and McClure continued the streak with a total of seven free-throw points.

Even though Hill and McClure scored a combined total of 45 points for the Lions, it was not enough to hold off the Eagles record-breaking night.

The home-court advantage also helped the Eagles to defeat Saint Leo, according to Crouch. With 46 seconds left of the game, Saint Leo had a team technical foul that allowed Crouch to clinch two freethrow shots. After he went 2-for-2 from the line, Crouch subbed out and listened to the crowd-roaring fans congratulate him on his stellar game.

“We knew Saint Leo was ahead of us in the rankings,” said Crouch.

“We knew they were a really good team. They beat us last time pretty good, and coming into this game, we knew we were at home, and we are really good at home. That gives us confidence. When we came out, and just had confidence that we were at home, we knew we could beat them.”

Heard scored 21 points with four rebounds and two assists, while Chris Murray, sophomore forward, had his sixth career double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jenkins scored 12 points on four three-pointers, and Luka Majstorovic, senior center, scored 10 points and had seven rebounds, five blocks, and a career-high ten assists.

The last time the Eagles and the Lions played each other, the Eagles reached a season-high of 28 fouls compared to the 15 personal fouls and fouls drawn in this home game.

The Eagles also reduced their turnovers by five and had 29 assists as a team.

“This is what basketball is all about, 29 assists, that’s sharing the ball,” said Ridder. Everyone played a role tonight. This game is the template we would like to bottle and have for the rest of the year right now.”

Embry-Riddle will play their final game on the road of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 22 at Eckerd. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. in St. Petersburg.

Next Game: Feb. 29 at 6:00 p.m.

ICI Center Chris Elwell/The Avion Newspaper

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Sports C3

Ice Hockey Sends Off Seniors Name: Adam Letarte Hometown: Milford, New Hampshire Position: Right Wing Years on Team: 1st year on the team Hobbies: WW2 collecting, fishing, and vehicle modifying Major: Aeronautical Science Who They Want To Thank: His dad

Name: Jeremy Kerson Hometown: Chicago, IL Position: Center Years on Team: 6 Hobbies: Video games, drinking Major: Homeland Security After Graduation Plans: Become active in Marine Corps Who They Want to Thank: Chris Gardner, Brendan Barger, Ken Byrnes, Bob Joyce, Anthony Galante, Bill Thompson, Andrew Caputo and all players over the past 6 years

Name: Alec Bischoff Hometown: Oconomowoc Wiscinsin Position: Winger Years on Team: 4 Hobbies: Flying Airplanes Major: Aeronautical Science After Graduation Plans: Flying airplanes for American Airlines Who They Want to Thank: His parents, Deb and William

Name: Ben Malczewski Hometown: Oregon, OH Position: Wing and Defense Years on Team: 3 Hobbies: Working out and building rockets Major: Aerospace Engineering After Graduation Plans: Interning for SpaceX for the summer and then returning to pursue a masters in Aerospace Engineering Who You Want To Thank: His parents, coaching staff, and fellow teammates

Name: Nicolas Prulhiere Hometown: Toulouse, France Position: Goalie Years on team: 4 Hobbies: Reading, going outside, gaming, and making Caputo mad Major: Aerospace Engineering, Astronautics Track After Graduation Plans: Going back for a Masters at Riddle Who They Want to Thank: Family and Friends

Name: Andrew Caputo Hometown: Port Saint Lucie, Florida Position: Goalie & Team President Years on Team: 4 Hobbies: Watching Hockey & learning about Patents Major: Engineering Physics After Graduation Plans: Interning with General Atomics for the summer and then look to start towards a Masters in Optics and Photonics Who You Want To Thank: His parents Keith & Dana, Coaches Bob, Bill, & Anthony, the Byrnes family, and his teammates Photos provided by Gabby Sanchez

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C4 Sports

Blue and Gold Secures a 2-0 Record Alani Seaman Managing Editor

On a beautiful Wednesday afternoon, the Embry-Riddle men and women’s tennis teams took to the courts with Florida National in their sights. By nightfall, the Blue & Gold had secured a 2-0 record for both men and women, a great start to the season.

Ending with a 5-2 record, the men’s team succeeded in doubles with three pairs defeating their respective opponents. Juan Ortiz Couder and Andres Donayre delivered a shut-out decision for the first Eagle win of the day, bringing their winning streak to three games in a row. Fernando Alsonso and Andrej Omeragic, along with Alexis Guedy and Lucas Bos, defeated their opponents with final scores of 6-3 and 6-4, respectively. Both pairs also have a threegame winning streak. The men’s team also put on a show in the singles games, racking up four wins.

Tim Loerwink and Andres Donayre

also wiped the floor with FNU players, barely allowing them a point the whole game.

The women’s tennis team had a successful day, completely shutting out FNU. They started the day winning two doubles matches to earn the doubles point, followed by six wins the singles matches.

The doubles games were won

by Georgina Wood and Roberta Krvajica, and Candela Bonivardi and Sofia Victoria with scores of 6-2 and 6-3, respectively. Opponents to Mafalda Soares and Alexis Marshall were not present, so the Eagles won by default. In the singles matches, the women dominated game after game.

Soares was given a chance to play later in the night, delivering a full shut-out of her opposition, Lizabeth Ardanal. The Aerospace Engineering sophomore has quite the season record, coming in at 11 wins and only two losses thus far.

Freshmen Julia Mautner and senior Alexis Marshall each allowed

Alani Seaman/The Avion Newspaper

Alani Seaman/The Avion Newspaper

only one point in both sets from their match-ups. Maria Secatore had no competitor, giving the Blue & Gold another default win.

Junior Sabrina Ehernfort added another win to her season total of 12 wins with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over FNU player Sofia Victoria Pera. The final success of the night went to Georgina Wood with a final score of 6-0, 7-5.

Looking ahead, both teams will travel to Valdosta, GA, on Friday, Feb. 28, to compete against Valdosta State. The women’s team will first take on Rollins College on Wednesday, Feb. 26, and live statistics will be available from West Palm Beach. They will hopefully produce a similar shut-out as the men’s team, who defeated Rollins College Feb. 19, 7-0. The Embry-Riddle tennis teams have a promising line-up left before they attend the Sunshine State Conference and NCAA Regionals in April and May, respectively.

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Alani Seaman/The Avion Newspaper

Vipul Telang/The Avion Newspaper

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D2 Motorsports

President Trump Attends Daytona 500 Vipul Telang Editor-in-Chief 45th President of the United States Donald J. Trump joined the list of sitting Presidents on Sunday, Feb. 16 to experience the Great American Race by attending the 62nd Daytona 500. Embry-Riddle students were excited to witness the arrival and departure of VC-25A, the Boeing 747-200B which carried the President, the First Lady, and other White House members. After landing at Daytona International Airport, the President was transported to the speedway via the “Beast,” a specially outfitted Cadillac. Pres-

ident Trump, who was named the Grand Marshal for the race, gave a speech before he took a lap around the speedway, a feat that no other president has done before.

“The Daytona 500 is a legendary display of roaring engines, soaring spirits, and the American skill, speed, and power” declared President Trump to a cheering crowd, many of whom were yelling “four more years” while waving “Make America Great Again” flags. After a second flyover by the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump took a lap around the speedway.

Eric Lu/The Avion Newspaper

Vipul Telang/The Avion Newspaper

Photo Courtesy/Andrew Herrara

Connor Adair/The Avion Newspaper

Alani Seaman/The Avion Newspaper

As part of the security detachment traveling to Daytona Beach in support of the President’s visit, the Embry-Riddle Naval ROTC participated in a static display of Marine Corps One helicopter at Daytona International Speedway. The Marine Corps HMX-1 Squadron are responsible for the safe transportation of the President and other dignitaries, and operate in concert with Air Force One.

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NASCAR Xfinity Race D3 Connor Adair/The Avion Newspaper

The #8 LS Tractor Chevrolet driven by Jeb Burton slams into the wall after being clipped from behind. Burton, who earned a playoff point for leading a stage, finished 23rd.

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The “big one” occurred on lap 114, collecting 12 cars in total. Pictured here are the #22 car of Austin Cindric and the #92 of Josh Williams after coming together in Turn 3

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Noah Gragson celebrates on the roof of his #9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet after a last-lap caution secured his win. The NASCAR Racing Experience 300 was the 21-year-old’s first Xfinity career victory.

Alani Seaman/The Avion Newspaper

The #7 of Justin Allgaier, the #92 of Josh Williams, and the #68 of Brandon Brown race three-wide heading to the start/finish line. Brown finished the highest of the three drivers, placing 7th. Williams finished in 26th and Allgaier crashed out on lap 107, finishing 30th.

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D4 Daytona 500

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Ross Chastain limps his #77 Advent Health Chevrolet to pit lane after making hard contact with Joey Logano on lap 198. Chastain finished in 25th, completing 201 of 209 laps.

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Michael McDowell receives left-side tires and fuel for his #34 Loveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Truck Stop Ford Mustang during a green flag pit stop. McDowell finished in 14th after starting in 26th.

Vipul Telang/The Avion Newspaper

The #6 car of Ryan Newman (airborne) was involved in a horrifying crash on the last lap of the race after attempting to block Ryan Blaney on the frontstretch. After his mangled car skidded to a halt upside-down, Newman was rushed to Halifax Hospital with serious injuries. Newman was released on Wednesday afternoon.

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February 17,2020 D5

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The #12 car driven by Ryan Blaney is pushed by the #47 car of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. down the backstretch. Blaney finished second behind winner Denny Hamlin by only 0.014 seconds.

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The #14 car driven by Clint Bowyer spins through the trioval grass after contact with Michael McDowell (not pictured). Despite the slight damage, Bowyer ended 6th after pitting.

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Jimmie Johnson in the #48 Ally Chevrolet leads the field before the race began in honor of his final Daytona 500 race start. The seven-time champion will retire at the end of 2020.

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Denny Hamlin hoists the Harley J. Earl Trophy with his team after winning the 62nd annual Daytona 500. This is Hamlinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second 500 win in a row and his third Daytona 500 victory.

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