8 replies to this topic

[Dave Crevie]

This girl is very motivated, and along with her college studies, interns with the Red Bull F-1 team, and designs full size commuter vehicles.

 

 

https://youtu.be/meI...uDtrWumT9AegLnS

 

 

 

 

 

Gives me new hope for young upcoming engineers.

[blue&orange]

Picking my jaw up off the floor.  That's talent!

[Dave Crevie]

Tamara is the type of engineer we need now. A visionary not afraid to try new things. The problem is not so much a small pool of engineers to draw from, but more the restrictive environment they are forced to work in. Upper management want their specific problems solved, and once that has been accomplished, the engineer's job is done. Little time is spent on developing processes to automatically deal with the problem in the future. 

 

We want to bring manufacturing back to the U. S. But we are putting the cart before the horse. Before you can build factories, you need to build a personnel infrastructure to run them. You need skilled workers that can perform a variety of tasks accurately and efficiently. And engineers that can design the product, and the processes involved in producing that product.

 

Just some statistics on engineering schools and their enrollments.

 

 

Stats for the 2023-2024 academic year:

 

 

 

 

  

Number of engineering students for 2023-2024:

 

 

 

Now, having over 350,000 engineering students might make you think that we are well covered in that department. But actually, there are a lot of fresh graduates that wash out once they are in the real world. That is alarming. Is that the fault of the universities? Or is it because they are being expected to be brainiacs and be able to work at the highest level straight out of school? I think a little of both. What happened to the apprenticeship programs that factories and job shops used to have?  Well, they simply don't want to spend the money. It's a "non-value added" program. They don't see the payback. 

 

 

 

[Martin]

Thanks Dave for sharing this, good to see young folk being creative. 

[Dave Crevie]

Those I have delt with are amazingly quick with new ideas. Two I have known for an extended period. One is the son of one of my best friends from years ago. He started a Purdue, finished up at Cal-Tech, and now works for Northrup Grumman. The other was a neighbor kid who went to Purdue, interned at Bell helicopter, then on to General Dynamics where he is now working in their Electric Boat division building submarines. I used to get into deep design conversations with both.

[The Sawdust Man]

Very cool!

[NSwanberg]

I wonder if racing yachts might employ the design?

[Dave Crevie]

In SailGP, the class F-50 cats are already using foils, have been for a while. These boats can move at three times the speed of the wind. Their sails are also a form of foil. So it is not out of the realm of possibility that a class could be formed using a riding form of foil like Tamara has invented. 

 

 

Although I have always wanted to try it, I have never done any sail racing. I have just satisfied that desire by watching the Americas Cup. Done some sail cruising on Lake Michigan and on the Chain of Lakes a little west of here. 

 

As far as the APB is concerned, I think they are too dead set on the current configurations for off-shore and unlimited hydros . I think that the jump to the foil riding boats is too much for that sector.

 

Most of my boating has been with power boats. Had a clone of a Rayson Craft ski boat I used for boat drags during one summer. Helped with the restoration of a few wood powerboats. But most of my activities were on land, or in the air above it. Even though I was a pretty good swimmer. I guess you just can't do everything you want. 

[Dave Crevie]

Follow-up video on Hydro-jet. 

 

https://youtu.be/qGq...OHUvfbfh1prbcMx

 

Pricing for the kit is not cheap. E5500 euros and are shipped from Southhampton, England. She makes all the carbon fiber parts herself, by hand. Otherwise, the kit is all screwdriver assembled in a couple of hours.

 

I'm going to follow her commuter car as it is developed. Sounds like this is another kit, mostly carbon fiber construction. Electric powered. 

 

 

 

 

So if it seems like I'm impressed with this girl, I guess so. Wish I was 55 years younger.