NO.

184

MARCH 2011

THE EUROAVIA NEWS

EUROAVIA T H E E U R O P E A N A S S O C I A T I O N O F A E R O S P A C E S T U D E N T S

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TO OUR READERS

Dear Readers,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the brand new issue of The EUROAVIA News magazine. The release date was not randomly chosen its March 1st, a day that welcomes spring into our lives the season of new beginnings, joys and accomplishments, a continuation of all the good things achieved. I know that its not easy to do a magazine: in today's economic madness, writing press akin to performing aerobatics, but I do believe that EUROAVIA needs this publication the voice that supports and brings its members together to celebrate individual and collective journeys, a platform of interaction and communication among you, our readers. The rebirth of this journal is our response to all the repeated requests received over time, being expressed in congresses and also in the Business Plans, so we truly hope that it will fulfill your expectations. Francis Scott Fitzgerald once said that You dont write because you want to say something, you write because youve got something to say a dynamic group of talented and motivated people made this happen: the staff members, the authors who willingly answered our call and also the advertisers, for who I want to express my infinite gratitude and appreciation. In my opinion, transformation is the process of perfection: we created a fresh layout and we included some entirely new sections among which you will find presentations that highlight past and future events, interviews, and interesting reports about the latest developments made in the aerospace industry. I hope we have made a positive difference in your life and that you will enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed it putting it together. Your support and feedback is the fuel that feeds and propels this creative process which I invite you to join, sharing your thoughts, suggestions, ideas and, why not, criticisms.

All my best wishes, Jacqueline Chindea

CONTENTS

THE EUROAVIA NEWS

VOL 184, NO. 1 2011
4 | Flying to the Edge of Space
by Rafel Jord Siquier

5 | Brazil and its challenges in the airport infrastructure for the World Cup & Olympic Games
by Alberto Ortega

9 |Waiting for he A380

by Stefan Zuleger, Taieb Ben Sghaier, Martin Kerler

13 |My Internship at NIA & NASA Langley

by Alessandro Miglaccio Alessandro Migliaccio

18 | EUROAVIAs Formation Workshop

by Jacqueline Chindea

CONTENTS

20 |WISHES Project
by Christopher Weckwerth

21|Wind Turbines Why Not?

by Matej Logar, EESTEC

25 | The Story behind the International Board Thomas Vermin

by Jacqueline Chindea

29 | The Story behind the International Board Eric Pucciarelli

by Jacqueline Chindea

FLYING TO THE EDGE OF SPACE

Flying to the Edge of Space

FLYING TO THE EDGE OF SPACE

The main goal of any engineer should be to solve problems in the simplest way. Since the beginning of aeronautics the complexity of the phenomena that determines the flight of an aircraft and the behavior of vehicles in space has developed in the industry a taste for challenge and complexity approached with creativity. In Neslab (Near Space Laboratory) and the SUN I mission at hand, we have applied these principles so rooted in the aerospace world to achieve a clearly defined goal: to get high resolution photos from near space where the earths curvature and the black sky in broad daylight can be seen. The project allowed us to experience a full cycle of design, construction and flight. During the first weeks the use of rockets from the ground was discarded in favor of helium high altitude balloons because they reached higher levels during longer times for the same budget. After freezing the configuration the detailed design was approached in different subgroups: the subgroup of structural design was responsible for stabilizing the probe and isolating it from low temperatures, the subgroup of electronics had to build a system capable of tracking the probe and finally the photography subgroup was responsible of taking, storage and post process the images. It was very rewarding to build what we designed and perform exhaustive tests on stability, parachute opening and thermal insulation to validate the design. This led us to carry out the first pitch near the Monegros, a sparsely inhabited region at the northeast of Spain. The flight lasted three hours and reached an altitude of 32km. On its return, we marveled at the images captured. The views obtained differ little from the images obtained from the ISS. Watching how through the probe rise the curvature of the horizon increased and

the sky became darker made us feel we were scratching Space. Following the success of the mission SUN I, it was decided to adapt the image system to get pictures of stars from 40km height. Due to a catastrophic failure in the main tracking GPS system the redundant location system, a radiofrequency device, had to be used. Unfortunately the location could not be reached before the camera was disappeared. If the affinity for the challenge and complexity are the foundations of the aerospace industry, the ambition to improve, to get higher is what has motivated the rapid progress through it short history. And for this same reason, after experiencing the satisfaction of the results of SUN I and the disappointment of the MOON I failure, we decided to move forward and develop a combined balloon rocket (Rockoon) capable of performing a parabolic flight into space (100km height). The UASL (Upper Atmosphere Space Launcher) starts from a NESLAB collaboration with other working groups from EA Terrassa such as the TRT (Terrassa Rocket Team) providing a new step for future goals. For any additional information about the mission visit www.neslabproject.com and
http://terrassarocketteam.blogspot.com/

Rafel Jord Siquier NESLAB Coordinator & EA Terrassa executive member

Brazil and its challenges in the airport infrastructure for the World Cup & Olympic Games

6 6

BRAZIL AND ITS CHALLENGES

In a country where football is close to be

the first concern, it may be hard to imagine that the bigger challenge regarding the historic 2014 World Cup to be celebrated in Brazil, may be the airport infrastructure but a lot of things need to change so that airport congestion disappears from the countrys list of problems. Todays Brazil, the biggest country in Latin America, 200 million inhabitants, an economy that according to the BRIC theory will be in the worlds top-5 in 2050, has many challenges and opportunities ahead. Namely, the Football World Cup, and the Olympic Games in 2016 in Rio, will become a great chance for the country to create a positive image in the international public opinion, which generally still associates the country to some of its problems like the Favelas ant the lack of security in the cities. Optimism is perceived today in every Brazilian citizen, as the country economy grows heavily and the poverty is reduced year after year. This economic prosperity has had an impact in the air transport industry in the last decade. The number of air travelers doubled in the period and according to forecasts in the next decade the volume can also double or even grow faster, following the path of Brazilian economy. Meanwhile airports need to absorb this demand. In Brazil transport by railway is incidental and road transport is already congested in the cities and its surroundings. For any visitor to So Paulo, , the economic capital of Brazil, it wouldnt go unnoticed how in an average day the sum of congested road areas can reach easily the 100 km figure. It is crucial,

then, for the countrys economy, that airports are ready to absorb the demand for air travel and cargo transport. However, today most important airports are serving more passengers than originally planned, meaning that the service level is under recommended international standards, causing, in the best case, delays and a general image of chaos and lack of comfort. The situation has been worsening in the last years, to the point that the organizers of the World Cup, being aware of the jump in traffic figures that the event can bring, have stated several times that the three main concerns for the success of the event, to be hold in 2014, were the airports, the airports and the airports. The problem then, affects not only transport and economy but even football and this makes a difference.

So Paulo Guarulhos, the main international airport of the country, lacks capacity and even out of peak hours most of the parking positions are occupied, as illustrated Infraero, the public company that manages the main civil airports in the country, and surprisingly a part of the Ministry of Defense, is supposed to invest thousands of millions of Reais in the airports. Not

BRAZIL AND ITS CHALLENGES

only it may be too late, but also past experiences show that the plans are not always 100% transformed into reality. In some cases the challenges are not only investment-related but also have to do with the planning carried in the past. In any case, important measures need to be taken in the short term World cup, Olympic Games and short and long term growth.

incrusted between the buildings, and has no room to grow. The alternative for this 20-million-inhabitant city seems to lay in Campinas airport, placed 100 km from the city center not very convenient to say the least. In other cities the solution may be simpler but require investment and time, for example in Rio de Janeiro a general improvement and expansion of the existing airport, Rio de Janeiro-Galeo, is essential. Other cities have similar situations, like Porto Alegre, where currently the traffic is roughly twice the original capacity of the airport. Can you even imagine the waiting lines at check-in in the peak hour? This need for growth in the capacity has been solved in quite an admirable way in part of the system. Some of the countrys airports have roomy and modern terminals, like Santos Dumont (Rio de Janeiro) with a really bright and comfortable aspect, and Fortaleza with a futuristic terminal building. The need for improvement will continue and the same effort needs to be made in all the airports. The positive note is that the country is well aware of the need to make important progress in the airport system, as the media reflects very often. Some ongoing projects will be able to soften the need for airport capacity in the medium term. But most of the airportrelated challenges are still to be faced. Time is limited but there are still chances to avoid flight delays and airport chaos being the protagonists of the 2014 World Cup, instead of the much desired and probable victory of the Brazilian national team. Alberto Ortega EUROAVIA Alumnae (AS Terrassa)

Rio de Janeiros convenient domestic airport, named after the aviation pioneer Santos Dumont, was recently modernized offering this modern aspect but recent growth in traffic eliminated any capacity buffer remaining

Emblematic projects are being carried out, like the future third terminal building in So Paulo Guarulhos, the countrys main gate and busiest airport with 21 million passengers. Guarulhos is at the same time a reflection of the existing situation in the whole airport system. With only two runways, which do not allow independent takeoffs and landings, the airport needs another one but the urban areas surrounding the airport do not allow this expansion. The other airport in the city, So Paulo Congonhas, is now literally

WAITING FOR THEA380

In the summer of 2010, the first A380 of Lufthansa Airline made a tour through the biggest German cities, presenting the new jewel of the airplane fleet.

THe

Having aircraft enthusiasts spread over Europe, they will share their experience when the plane touched ground in their home.
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WAITING FOR THE A380

Thousands gather to greet the A380 in Stuttgart On the morning of Wednesday June 2nd the hazy morning was somewhat lifted by the hoards of students, plane-spotters, elderly folk in ponchos and families with children making their way towards Stuttgart Airport to catch a glimpse of what is known to the wider community as that big new plane or what we nerds like to call the 570-ton 525-seater Airbus A380800. After Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qantas and Air France it was now the turn of Lufthansa to receive its first A380. Named Frankfurt am Main the giant aircraft was making its first of 4 stops including Zurich, Vienna and Nurnberg on its first tour of the alpine region and it definitely did not go unnoticed. Thousands of people poured out to the visitors terraces and viewing areas to watch the worlds largest civil airliner land at Stuttgart. As the planes silhouette started to become visible in the cloudy morning sky it became more obvious to the crowds just how big this plane really is. With a wingspan of 79m and a capacity of 525 passengers in the current passenger setting this really is an aircraft of the superlative that can even allow its fuel consumption per passenger per 100km to be compared to that of a small Volkswagen Lupo with 2.9 litres per 100km. Of course although this is a big plane the crowd was also surprised to notice just how quiet the plane is. Equipped with 4 Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines each producing 72,000lb of thrust this aircraft is so quiet that some pilots have even complained that it is too

quiet for sleeping during breaks as cabin sounds such as a flushing toilet or a snoring passenger can now be heard from inside the cockpit. Such inconveniences used to be of course drowned out by engine noise and were never a problem. I am sure however that this is welcome news to residents near the busy airports operating this particular aircraft. At 07:35 with landing gear down and landing flaps spread out the A380 glided down towards the tarmac of runway 25 and was received with a hugely enthusiastic applause from the crowds who definitely were not disappointed by the sights. Selected guests were shown the inside the aircraft for a short guided tour and 2 hours later the big guest of the day was cleared for take-off to start its short flight towards Zurich. The 3 current A380s currently operated by Lufthansa are named Frankfurt am Main, Mnchen and Peking and are of course programmed for somewhat longer voyages such as regular flights to and from Tokyo, Beijing and Johannesburg. If you had asked any of the visitors this morning at Stuttgart Airport, I am adamant that none of them would mind the strain of the long voyage on this plane!

Taieb Ben Sghaier EUROAVIA Stuttgart

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WAITING FOR THE A380

Lufthansas A380 visit in Hannover 3 June 2010 The first A380-800 for Lufthansa commenced its training flights at the end of Mai taking it to several airports in Germany including Karlsruhe, Leipzig/Halle, Stuttgart, Dresden, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Dsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn and Hannover! D-AIMA is the first of fifteen A380s for Lufthansa. The next delivery is scheduled for the beginning of July. Together with about 10.000 other aircraft fans we waited impatiently at a specially created viewing area on the apron for the huge Airbus to arrive.

With a delay of about half an hour the airplane appeared in the sky coming from Berlin. While flying over the runway to turn on to final to land on runway 9L we could hardly hear it, giving you a good impression of the new Rolls Royce engines! As the A380 turned off the runway, Hannovers airport fire brigade was waiting to give the crew and the aircraft a wet welcome. To reach its parking spot the plane had to taxi past where we were standing. And seeing an aircraft of that size taxiing right in front of you is really impressive! After an hour stay the A380 left Hannover again towards Hamburg.

Lufthansa A380 visit in Munich

has a very good medical infrastructure. Sadly, the small girl was so ill that no one could help her anymore. This time, the arrival of the A380 was a joyful event. In 2008, Lufthansa made a great gift to the city of Munich due to its 850th anniversary. They promised to baptize (that is very common in Germany) one of the first Lufthansa A380s with the name of the city. After the delivery delays - caused by Airbus - the airline got their first airliners this year and they could fulfill their promise now.

A few months ago on July 28 th, a great event took place at the Munich Airport. It was the first time a brand new A380 of the well known German airline Lufthansa came to the capital of Bavaria and it was also the third time of an A380 visit till today. The first time, Airbus tested the ground operations and the boarding of the huge airplane. This was no problem at all because the airport was designed to be A380 ready. The next stop was unfortunately a sad event. A child got ill during a long range flight from Dubai to New York operated by Emirates using an A380. The pilots decided to make an emergency stop in Munich because they were close to Germany at that time and it

Thus, during the early morning the airplane came from the Lufthansas A380 operational basis Frankfurt am Main and landed on the north runway called
11

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WAITING FOR THE A380

26L/08R. After taxiing to the apron in front of the maintenance hangars, it disappeared inside of one of them. Only the very tall vertical stabilizer of its empennage at the back didnt fit into the hangar. During the celebration, the bird got baptized by the wife of Munichs major Christian Ude, using a very old-fashioned Zinnkrug and water from the river Isar which floats through the city. But this was not the end of the visit. With its new name Munich at the front fuselage, the A380 was pushed back out of the hangar and started its enormous engines to go on a sightseeing flight through the airspace in front of the Bavarian Alps. A few minutes before more than 500 glad people went aboard. Lufthansa sold the tickets on the internet and the price range was from 99 EUR up to 999 EUR. The cheapest seat was in the Economy Class at the aisle. The most expensive one was located at a window in the First Class. But in fact the company did not make any profit because they donate the money to a good cause. After the first sightseeing flight the airplane returned to Munich and then the first group of happy people left it followed by a second group which boarded and did the same flight. With the beginning of the sunset, the new Munich left the airport again and returned to Frankfurt from where it will operate to make the world a bit smaller in the future.

Martin Kerler, EUROAVIA Mnchen

Having shown the plane to the enthusiasts around Germany, the Airplane started its duty in the airline, carrying passengers on long-distance flights. Thanking the several contributors of this article, we are all looking forward to setting a step into this plane with a ticket in our hands. Stefan Zuleger

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13

MY INTERSHIP AT NIA AND NASA

Figure 2 Drop test of the ORION structural model

Finding a suitable internship that combines learning in stimulating environment and an enjoyable summer vacation is a big challenge, but eventually the solution I found is in the most obvious place for a space engineer. I will tell you of my internship at NASA Langley on structural dynamics.

I searched all over Europe and beyond for a suitable internship, but I was not able to find a suitable one. One day, at my own university, our internship coordinator posted an advertisement about an internship possibility at National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) and NASA Langley. The period is from June to August 2009, which is not very attractive schedule because of the examinations etc. but this does not prohibit me to apply because every spaceengineering student would like to experience how it feels like to be in NASA. There were a hundred who applied but only four students were selected for this internship: Alexander, Fernand, Vivek and me. After all the preparations, collection of documents, interviews, and visa arrangements we departed to the United

Figure 1 Drop test of the Orion capsule structural model

States of America. Once arrived the efficient personnel of NIA helped us going through the annoying bureaucracy (that for governmental agencies such as NASA can be really troublesome). They also take care of our accommodation, transportation, information on events in the area and of course the salary (not negligible issue).

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MY INTERSHIP AT NIA AND NASA

NIA is a bridge organization between its founding universities and NASA, its purpose is to conduct leading-edge aerospace and atmospheric research, develop new technologies for the nation and help inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. It is also one of the few ways where non-Americans can use to work at NASA. To plainly describe how awesome NASA is, they have a very modern building just outside the Langley campus, which is absolutely breathtaking. The work environment is very stress-free and I enjoyed meeting American PhD students, some of them shared adventures to my colleagues and me. The structural dynamics branch The Langley campus is old fashion, since it was the first NASA center founded, the external aspect is 60s fashion, but this does not defer them from being worthy to be branded extremely modern and their projects extremely actual.

I had the opportunity to work at the Structural Dynamics branch under the supervision of Dr. Fasanella. The Structural Dynamics Branch uses the Landing and Impact Dynamics Research (LandIR) facility, to perform a multitude of impact tests for both aeronautics and space applications. Although all the projects they are working on are very interesting the one that got my attention the most is the testing of the structural model of the Orion capsule, which is able to carry four astronauts to the moon and back. I witnessed first hand several drop tests of an energy absorption systems that allows the capsule to land on sand, and not only on water as the Apollo capsule. My first assignment Unfortunately my assignment had nothing to do with the exciting Orion capsule project; nevertheless I had the opportunity to study some calibration drop data. Before every drop test is performed: a small hemispherical penetrometer is dropped. The acceleration data coming from this test are useful to obtain a soil model, which will be used to simulate all the following real drops.

Figure 4 Soil model with hemispherical penetrometer

Figure 3 Landing and Impact Dynamics Research facility

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MY INTERSHIP AT NIA AND NASA

Figure 6 MPS mounting structural design

Figure 5 Experimental a theoretical behavior of the soil model. On the y axis the acceleration (g), on the x the time (s)

I had to learn from scratch on how to use the software LS-DYNA to obtain a good soil model resembling closely the behavior measured during the real test. Several soil parameters had to be estimated, and dozens of simulations were necessary. Since I had limited time I could not take into account all the variables involved and refine the model as much as I wanted. In the graph my final results are shown. The difference between the maximum accelerations is due to the depth of the model that was not large enough to allow the soil model to completely adsorb the impact. My second assignment Luckily being at the Structural Dynamics brench I had the opportunity of completing a project for Delft University, the design of a structural mounting for the Multifunctional Particle Spectrometer (MPS), one of the payloads of Delfi-n3Xt mission, a new cubesat designed and built by TUDelft students, scheduled for launch in 2011.

It was a team assignment, so I worked in cooperation with two colleagues from Delft. The objective is to propose a design and prove that it can easily withstand the launch loads of the PSLV Indian launcher. The resulting concept is shown in the picture, there is room for three electronic boards, and the scintillator (the prism in the middle), used to scan the radiation. Kitty Hawk and Smithsonian museum The weekends were perfect occasions for excursions. We visited Washington and New York (in one night!) and I also had a little trip to Atlanta to experience GeorgiaTech university atmosphere. One of the most aerospace-related visit was the one to North Carolina, to Kitty Hawk the first site of where the Wright brothers built their first gliders, a huge piece of aviation history that we could not miss. The hill itself is nothing special except for the big monument and the statues of Orville and Wilbur Wright. The length of the first flight was indicated by stones, but being there was not about the objects, more a sensation surrounding the place, making you feel that a revolution of humanity begun there. There were light aircrafts flying around the place making still alive the spirit of that first flight.

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MY INTERSHIP AT NIA AND NASA

sections that my department at NASA borrowed for impact investigation after the Columbia disaster. Opportunities at NASA The average age of the employees in NASA is very high and this is a clear indication of the recent NASA employment policy. The bureaucracy is still a big obstacle cause of the ITAR regulation and the clearance level necessary to enter the facilities. Just to give you an example, I had to be escorted at all times, inside the NASA center, during all my permanence. The recent cancellation of the Constellation program is unfortunate and, since it involves the cancellation of the Orion capsule as well, it nullifies, at least for now, most of the recent work of the structural dynamics department. However NASA had many challenging projects and most of them could benefit from the help of a highly motivated EUROAVIA students or alumna. To those who are thinking to apply, I suggest to look for cooperation between a European university and National Institute of Aerospace (www.nianet.org), since their main purpose is education they are the ideal intermediary between universities and NASA. For any question or practical information you can find me on facebook.

Figure 7 Our group at Washington Dulles Museum

Another interesting trip we had is where we visited the Smithsonian museum at Dulle Waschington Airport. My colleagues and me already visited the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC but this one is a must for aerospace engineers. Here we saw several aircrafts and spacecrafts that made history. I thought I was prepared for that experience, so at first I was not very impressed looking at the hall full of aircrafts. First we saw the Lockheed SR71, beter known as Blackbird, it was wonderful to see, with that aerodynamics profile, made for supersonic flight, same sensation I felt looking at the nice lines of the Concorde, perfectly preserved in the right hangar. I feel curious when we passed by the Enola Gay, there was nothing special about the aircraft itself, but I could not avoid thinking about how deadly cargo it once carried. After that, one of the best attractions of the museum is yet to be seen. We entered another huge hall and there it was, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, colossal in the middle of the place. Even if it never saw space, it is still an important piece of world astronautic history. I admired its shape and I tried to identify the tiles the

Alessandro Migliaccio EUROAVIA Delft

17

The Formation Workshop

The Formation Workshop was created due to our permanent need to look at the future of EUROAVIA: it is a training event with the main goal of increasing the quality of operations that supports and enhances the work of its membership by providing training and resources. In order to fulfill its mission and objectives, EUROAVIA created a strategic plan which includes a wide area of activities. This event covered a diverse and complex set of themes and highlighted the needs of our association and of its members. EUROAVIAs achievements are made possible only through the hard work of its members -they must learn to take the challenges, make the right choices and also make changes when necessary. Throughout this event, EUROAVIA tries to serve the needs and expectations of every member in order to continue to build a powerful association. This year, the Formation Workshop took place in Athens, between the 28th of November and the 4th of December. We must give special thanks to EUROAVIA NTUA, who had the strength, energy and

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THE FORMATION WORKSHOP

creative spirit of organization. 25 participants from all across Europe had the opportunity to develop themselves as students and future engineers, as entrepreneurs, problem solvers and team players in an environment surrounded by intelligence, confidence and motivation. The main objectives of the Formation Workshop were identifying future priorities of EUROAVIA, adapting monitoring to meet future challenges, ensuring a joined-up working approach of each group and also improving the skills of the participants. During this week, the activities organized were related to increasing performance and motivation of each member and to the successful running of an organization. Some of us are born gifted with creativity and talent, others achieve qualities through hard work, but people are not born with any particular skill. Everything can be learned so is leadership. Members should know that they can do a better job when they are working together for one common goal. It is important to make everyone accountable for what they do, but judging success on the overall efforts of everyone. Mr. Epameinondas Koronis, lecturer in Management Studies at Cranfield University, held the seminary Team pathologies and how to make good decisions, explaining the difficulties that can appear when making a group decision. He brought into discussion several methods for making a decision in a team and solutions for the problems that we must face. The participants also had the opportunity to participate in an environmental simulation game, experiencing the

fundamentals of strategic management and developing entrepreneurial strategies. The event also provided training on communication and presentation skills, because every student should succeed at presenting. The main goal was to make them able to create a presentation with a clear message and deliver it with confidence. A good understanding of EUROAVIAs system is essential - Stefan Zuleger, Executive Member of the International Board, worked with the participants and encouraged them to find new solutions and strategies for activities at local or international level regarding different aspects. The Formation Workshop is a well structured event that provided its participants with diverse, multicultural, and meaningful educational experiences. Athens has probably the most longstanding and impressive cultural heritage of any city in Europe. The activities organized were complemented by a varied cultural program, including the tour of Hellenic Aerospace Industry and a visit to the Acropolis Museum. There is a continuing need to expand dialog and information sharing among the association and the affiliated societies. The Formation Workshop offered the chance to develop interpersonal skills, to discover team dynamics and collaborative thinking, to broaden horizons and to gain new friends, being at the same time an educational and motivational experience for every participant.

Jacqueline Chindea EUROAVIA Bucuresti

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Looking for your dream university abroad?

Social Network for European study offers launched Students planning to study abroad now finally have a convenient way of finding all the necessary information easily and on one glance. As of now, students are facing an information jungle of outdated information, complex websites, and high-gloss articles. The freshly launched WISHES mobility portal, which is co-financed by the European Commission, clears up the matter and presents European study offers free of charge and structured in accordance to the expressed needs of 4000 international students. To support students settling into a new country, an online community has been integrated as well. What started as the wish of one student back in 2006, has now come true: The Erasmus Mundus consortium around the University of Paderborn has launched its global internet platform, the WISHES mobility portal, supporting students to find their dream university abroad. To fulfil this mission, WISHES ambition is to present the complete picture: Studying abroad is about more than changing universities it is literally a life-changing experience. Thus, besides information about the institutions, WISHES also provides advice concerning accommodation, financial issues and much more, says Michael Steinmann who came up with the idea of WISHES during his own Erasmus semester. Currently, more than 150 universities present themselves and their study offers on the WISHES web. Informative database and students community in one As the information portal additionally comprises an online community, WISHES does not only provide information, but actively matches students even before they meet for the first time on campus. WISHES This mix of formal and non-formal information increases the credibility of institutional information and thus makes WISHES an enormously trustworthy source of information", adds the WISHES Project's coordinator Leena Suhl. Supported by several European associations, national agencies, Rectors Conferences and Ministries of Education, about 180 European universities have joined the project until today. Over 120 further institutions expressed their interest to join the network in the near future. Universities have understood that only centralized and reliable information can attract the interest of their future students. As WISHES offers a convenient way to do so, we are looking forward to offering students a rapidly growing source of information, expresses Steinmann optimistically. 20 The WISHES mobility portal is available on http://www.eu-wishes.eu

20

Wind Turbines - Why Not?

Wind turbines-why not?
21

WIND TURBINES - WHY NOT?

In Europe we decided to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Mostly it is a political decision, which produced package of proposals called 20-20-20. That means till 2020, EU will reduce CO2 emissions by 20 percent, increase energy efficiency by 20 percent and increase the share of renewable sources from 8,5 to 20 percent. Sounds great! But... This mission costs a lot. All of these decisions were made during the EU's strong and long economy growth. It will be very interesting to see how this turns out after this economy crisis ends. Solo actions made by one country are usually ended when it turns out that their economy is not competitive on the global market of energy resources. You have to know that renewable energy is mostly expensive. Exploitation of wind energy is one of the Europe's most fast-growing sources of electricity not only in relative terms but also in absolute. In Europe in the past few years in the absolute context only installed gas-fired power plants has exceeded the growth of wind power. World's global annual growth of installed wind power plants in recent years have ranged between 20 and 40 percent. In year 2008 their total power exceeded 100000 MW. Almost 40 percent of that is installed in Germany and Spain. Wind energy is the appearance of solar energy, because earths surface and atmosphere act as a heat machine. Wind potential on land and offshore sea is estimated at 72TW, which is equal to 54 billion tones of oil per year. This exceeds five times the current human energy needs.

Now I would like to tell you more about wind turbines and why they are so expensive to run. One of the most important fact is that power of a wind turbine depends on wind speed third potency. What that means is that if wind changes speed for factor 2 the power raises by factor 8. If speed falls for only 20 percent the power reduces by half and increase of 20 percent increases power by 70 percent. What this means that wind turbines are very unreliable energy source, therefore the average wind speed does not say almost anything about a possible production. Example: If wind blows with constant wind speed over a period of time we can get 4 times less power as if the wind was blowing with two times the speed in half of this period. For economic reasons mechanic and electrical parts are designed differently, so that the characteristic of a real wind turbine is like it is shown on the picture 1. When wind reaches speed 13m/s power becomes constant and when it reaches 25m/s wind turbine is stopped, because it cannot withstand anymore. Wings turn in the position so that turbine can withstand mechanical stress. Picture 1

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WIND TURBINES - WHY NOT?

The problem is also strong wind (over 25m/s) which cause an immediate power off. Because it is a jump from maximum to zero power this effect is extremely unfavorable for the system. In picture 2 we see dependence of the power produced, depending on the speed. These kinds of turbines are placed in Denmark. In September 2006 UCTE system dissolved in three parts because the wind suddenly became too strong. We were very lucky that we did not face total blackout. Unlike water turbine wind turbines even theoretically cannot take advantage of all the kinetic energy of air. The theoretical limit represents Betz factor, which is 16/27 or 59 percent of all wind power. The actual efficiency is up to 45%. Wind turbines are known as green energy or environmentally friendly, because they use renewable source (wind) and do not directly produce any emissions. This claim is true when they work normally with constant wind. But we must not forget other factors which in some respects even more impact on the environment as a non-renewable energy sources. Below I will present you some facts that are usually not told and they usually decide if they will be placed. Wind turbines in terms of price are not the most effective. They are qualified among producers that have assured purchase price or a supplement to the energy sold in the market. This means that the energy sold by wind power plant to distributor is more expensive than the energy sold to the consumer. Quality of energy produced is very low(poor predictability, difficult to ensure the agreed quantity). Without subsidy, construction of wind turbines is not paid. Good example is

USA. When the subsidy was canceled construction of wind turbines was practically gone in a second. In eight years fell also installed wind power from 1709MW to 1611MW. The worst thing is that despite all the subsidies provided by countries invest, the price of wind power plants do not fall any more. We can say they are almost optimized. Wind power plants require spare capacity in the electricity network. For these purposes are required the water pumping and/or gas-fired power plants, as they can quickly run. This adds additional costs to power plant construction. Efficiency is poor because wind is not blowing with optimum seed all the time. In Germany, where they have good natural conditions and they say their efficiency is 18%. This means that they produce 5 times less than they could. Electricity needs and the available wind power are often diametrically opposed. This problem is shown on picture 2. That means, that in the middle of the day when we need most of the energy there is not enough available. We have a highlight when we don't need it. This kind of problem is known in USA and in Greece also. Picture 2

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WIND TURBINES - WHY NOT?

The savings in CO2 emissions due to the unequal production is much smaller than it appears at first. When the wind stops blowing we have to run fossil power plants to replace the lack. This regulation reduces efficiency of fossil fuels power plants. And there are other issues to: -they need a lot of space, -their reduction of emissions is so little compared to energy they produce; -they produce noise that is comparable with motorcycle; -they effect on television signal and produce disturbance in telecommunications -they cause headaches and migraine to people due to flashing shadows made by to rotation of rotor

My task in this article was to describe the bad side of wind power production. The primary purpose was to explain the other, ugly side that promoters of wind energy usually don't tell you. In public that raises false expectations and is an excellent medium for the various speculative thinking, political promotion and enforcement of partial interests. Often is misleading the public. I believe, however, sweeping problems under the carpet in the long run is not the right decision. Don't get me wrong, I don't say that I hate wind turbines and only fossil fuels are good. Hell no, if we could replace fossil fuels I would be one happy man. It is necessary that we see the whole picture and then decide how we are going to solve energy supply problem. Matej Logar EESTEC LC Ljubljana

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The Story behind the International Board

We already know that Thomas Vermin and Eric Pucciarelli are the president and executive member of EUROAVIA, and that they are successfully managing the association at international level together with the rest of the International Board. Two strong, yet different personalities, theyve opened their hearts and shared thoughts and opinions about aspects of their life. Through this article you will get to know them in a different way.

JACQUELINE: How did you choose to study aerospace engineering? THOMAS: I think that aerospace engineering was the only one that was challenging for me, in the sense that there was plenty of challenge in the studies and its the only way something can become attractive to me it was also an international vibe there that attracted me to choose it.

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JACQUELINE: What are the most important things learned in school? THOMAS: The most important thing for me- there should really be a nice balance between your studies and your social life. JACQUELINE: How do you see yourself in 10 years? THOMAS: Living in Barcelona, having a nice house on the beach, a couple of little children running around, a very common life, not very hectic. JACQUELINE: What do you expect from people you interact with? THOMAS: I expect the best. JACQUELINE: What is the aspect that you most proud of when it comes to your life? THOMAS: For now, its EUROAVIA. The work I do here its very fulfilling. JACQUELINE: What was the most beautiful landscape, one that youve ever seen? THOMAS: In natures beauty, I think that nothing can be compared with the Rocky Mountains. It was very majestic; you truly felt that you are alone in the world when you saw it. The most beautiful and impressive urban landscape is New York. JACQUELINE: Have you started to be viewed differently since you have been chosen president? THOMAS: The hardest thing for me is that some people dont see me longer as a student, like Im just one of them. And thats a very important thing, because when a student comes to you or a friend, you should talk on equal level I actually think it prevents proper communication . Some withhold their opinions, some are telling you want do you want to hear, but I consider this a erroneous way of procedure - its now what youre working for. JACQUELINE: What qualities should the president of EA have? What are some of the skills and abilities you see as necessary for someone to succeed in this job? THOMAS: I think that any president should have a vision. I think of it as I started and still being part of it, I have an idea of what its wrong with the society and what it could be. I think that every man has its own vision, but what will make the difference will be the amount of determination that person will have. The president has to succeed because of his own will. I think self confidence is also very important, making your statements, showing the society your points of view. I also consider that the president should be tremendously ambitious, and this ambition to be driven by a humongous sense of

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empowerment. I think that any president should believe in the empowerment of others, not only in themselves. JACQUELINE: Do you think of yourself as a model for others? THOMAS: No, I think I have the moral obligation to be a model for others, meaning that through my presidency I have to make a statement to others, in the sense that maybe, someday, they will candidate too, and to inspire them with my motivation . I dont see myself as a president but I do see myself as the one who holds the presidency, and therefore, has to be an example for others. JACQUELINE: How would you describe your own managerial style? THOMAS: My own managerial style would be very close to a general one, but very close to a democratic one. Im very straightforward, straight to the point, I believe that the most clear and simple directions are the most powerful ones, because people understand them, but I also know that everybodys opinion counts. I believe in straightforward democracy and also in efficient discussions. JACQUELINE: What personal qualities or characteristics do you most value? THOMAS: Family and friends. Honesty. hard work. JACQUELINE: How would you characterize EUROAVIA? What are its principal values? What are its greatest challenges? THOMAS: I think EA its mostly the second family to a lot of students, who can rely on it, now only now, but also in the future. A lot of students are looking for something beyond their studies , something that they can contribute to the society and EA provides them something to do for the next generations. I think one of the greatest challenges EA faces is when students are under the pressure of the studies if it is too high, it will become the priority in a their life and anything else will be put on secondary plans. JACQUELINE: What one piece of wisdom that every EA member should incorporate into his work life? THOMAS: Dont forget to dream. Theres a difference between making something happen and making something happen that you believe in. JACQUELINE: What makes EA a great place to be in? THOMAS: The openness and the friendship you will find here.

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JACQUELINE: If you could trade places with any other person for a week, with whom would it be? THOMAS: I would just trade places with someone who has a decent job, and a very simple life, with a nice family - I always thought that having such a life its the most fulfilling way of living. There are only two paths which you can choose from: the comfortable one, when you enjoy thing, and the challenging one, when you can never rest, always looking for the next thing. Its a one way road, once you choose one you cannot switch with the another one. JACQUELINE: If aliens landed in front of you, and, in exchange for anything you desire, offered you any position on their planet, what would you want? THOMAS: I will not go on their planet. I mean, we have Starbucks. JACQUELINE: If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be? THOMAS: I would like to make ice-cream, because it makes everybody happy. JACQUELINE: What is something that not a lot of people know about you but you wish more people could know? THOMAS: I like yellow M&Ms. JACQUELINE: Who made your biggest impact in your life so far, and why? THOMAS: Someone who let me it was more to life than material things and hard work, and told me to enjoy the little things day by day. JACQUELINE: Describe the most special day of your life so far. THOMAS: I think we should take every day as it comes, every day is special, but one of my most special moments are the ones spent with my family. JACQUELINE: What is nicest compliment you ever received from a girl? THOMAS: The nicest comment I ever received was about the fact that Im always happy, and I make people smile. JACQUELINE: What goals or objectives needed to be achieved in the next six months? THOMAS: In the past 6 months weve done the restructuring, we set new goals, we put the structure in place; in the next six months we will build that new structure, we will achieve the goals that were set sponsoring, new Affiliated Societies, everything for a better and more organized association.
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JACQUELINE: Can you sing some important tracks for me? (Bad singing ensues)

JACQUELINE: How did you decide to become part of the International Board? ERIC: I decided to become an IB member in a very unusual way: I was an active member of EA Pisa, and I had the chance to organize the EMEAC 2010, a good opportunity to see what work at international level means. Attending the congress I realized that I am part of this great entity, I understood that I could help EA to pursue its purpose and I decided to candidate, for an ethic sense of responsibility. JACQUELINE: Your work is quite demanding. How do you cope with everything?

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ERIC: A tool which I found very useful is Google Calendar (synchronized between my PC, the Internet, the Doodle requests and my mobile phone). I would suggest making it a standard in EA, in this way we could work easier. Because I am divided between 3 different associations, one international and two local ones, I have to have a permanent connection to the Internet in order to be able to check my inbox and process all the mails as soon as possible. JACQUELINE: Have you had to make compromises in this activity? ERIC: Of course I had to - I gave up my free time, renouncing to do something else (going out, watching a film, having dinner with my family or even study). JACQUELINE: EA is an association run by motivated members. What motivates you? ERIC: In general, what motivates me in any sort of activity is the sense of responsibility. As activities must be continued, enlarged, developed I feel ethically responsible to be part of the ones who make it possible. JACQUELINE: What does "success" mean to you and how important is it in your life? ERIC: I strongly believe that the most important thing is the value we accord to projects. I THE STORY BEHIND THE INTERNAT IONAL BOARD have a strong ethic feeling and I think that before declaring something a success we have to consider the consequences. Success means to pursue the goals set at the beginning. My set goal was to have a successful mandate at the end. The happiness of people dealing with the association is an important variable in the equation, also, making this activity something educating to the future life still passing great moments together is a necessity. JACQUELINE: What is your first aerospace-related memory? ERIC: I remember that when I was very little I used to ask my father about his job in general, his answer was that he used to do rockets. I began to collect any sort of material about it, trying to know as much as possible about it. Every little boy believes that his father is a hero, so I tried to understand his superpowers too. Step by step, I became fascinated about the aeronautics field.
26 JACQUELINE: What historical figure do you admire the most and why?

ERIC: Alcide de Gasperi, the first prime minister of the Italian Republic. I particularly admire his skills of diplomacy he took responsibilities toward the country, managing to unify divergent views (the communists, the church, and the populations expectations). But the figures who most influenced my thoughts are the French philosophers of the XVIII century, particularly Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

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JACQUELINE: Movies or books? Tell me about your favorite one ERIC: Books - I do love Erri de Lucas works, a Neapolitan author - particularly Alzaia, which quotes historical acts and cultural facts. I also love Il fu Mattia Pascal, by Luigi Pirandello, and Balzac et la Petite Tailleuse Chinoise by Dai Sijie. Films -I love Le

fabuleux destin d'Amlie Poulain. In general I like the films about the contemporary
history, especially about the problems of the Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands; and even if it is not a true story, I like The Aviator. JACQUELINE: What is your favorite place in the world and why? ERIC: Normally I feel at home in any place where I have spent a night, but what I consider "home" it is mostly the Parisian region and Carrara (where I live in Italy). I am literally divided between them. From cultural point of view I do not feel Italian or French; I need both of those countries. And who knows, maybe in the future the list will contain some others too. JACQUELINE: What are you passionate about? ERIC: I turn easily passionate about anything. I usually like what I do- particularly I love any sort of engineering problems, I like finding solutions to problems (especially in the aeronautics field, science, law etc.). Other interests would be riding my motorbike and sailing. JACQUELINE: How do you balance private life and work? ERIC: As it is not really a work, with defined timetable its difficult to. My work is made of a "routine" part and of an "on demand/urgent" factor, so compromises must be made. JACQUELINE: What qualities should a girl have to get your attention?
T H E S ERIC: Firstly, I do N Dlike the flattering ones.A T I O N A to speakA R D with a girl T O R Y B E H I not T H E I N T E R N I would like L B O openly

about many subjects, so a request would be a good level of culture. However, the most important thing is that she must see me as her pair. JACQUELINE: Abdul Kalam said that You have to dream before your dreams can come true. What is your dream job? ERIC: Although I thought about this topic, actually until now I can not define exactly what my job dream is. Certainly I would love to be in the aeronautic field. I am still a student, and for the moment I choose what to study to gain useful skills for a future job. I think my work will not be defined only by the prestige of the place and by the salary- I 27 will choose my job for the sense of responsibility toward this task, for the level of
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involvement in it. If I will have the necessary time, I would love to spend some time of my life totally helping the others, especially teenagers to develop their critic sense, to open their minds, to acquire the human skills a responsible human being should have in the society. I think this sort of mission is useful not only for the others, but for us too. JACQUELINE: What was the hardest choice you ever made? ERIC: I think one of my hardest choices was about my university. I was not sure about its location, about its domain. I thought about medicine, economic studies, law studies, but my primary scientific passion for aeronautical engineering made me to do this choice. JACQUELINE: What do you think is the biggest problem that nowadays teenagers and young people have? ERIC: The lack of values and of sense of responsibility toward themselves and toward the society, the superficiality and the selfishness spirit conveyed by the nowadays models. I think that the new generations are no more interested in what surrounds them. JACQUELINE: If someone would write your biography, what do you think the title should be? ERIC: The path of a cultural anomaly culturally, I feel neither French, nor Italian, and I have had quite a particular experience of life, a mix of different kinds of activities and associations I have been involved with. JACQUELINE: If you could relive the last 5 years of your life would you do something differently? ERIC: Maybe to be more careful about some relationships. But even if I would like to have acted in other way, if I would have done so, probably now I would not have those experiences that taught me how to act in the future. We are taught by our experiences and it is our experiences that form us! JACQUELINE: What is something you could never give up? ERIC: My dignity. JACQUELINE: What was the best day of your life so far? ERIC: Making a regatta with Matteo Latterza in the Gulf of Trieste. Also I would add here the days spent in the camps in the mountain with the catholic action. JACQUELINE: If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be, and why?

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ERIC: A coral! Standing the whole day in so marvelous edges of world always in THE STORY BEHIND THE INTERNAT IONAL BOARD vacation JACQUELINE: What kind of magic powers would you like to have? ERIC: Teleportation, it would be so great! JACQUELINE: For what would you like to be remembered in history? ERIC: For having helped people around me to feel better JACQUELINE: In your opinion, what is the greatest contribution EA expects from its members? ERIC: To believe in it and in its goals, this without only looking for comeback. JACQUELINE: What changes brought EA into your life and what do you like most about being part of it? ERIC: EA obliged me to organize me much better -to have an updated calendar, to face with problems that I have not chosen. Moreover I love the idea of being in close contact with so many people living far away, but with whom I am working to produce something concrete. JACQUELINE: An advice that you would give to a potential candidate for the International Board ERIC: To enlarge the number of IB members, to share as possible the tasks, and to "decentralize" the AS management, from the executive, to a WG (as suggested by the FIB) or to a responsible for every area, not necessarily a part of the IB but elected by the regions of AS. Also I suggest them to organize live IB meetings!
CONTENTS

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