Iron Warrior: Volume 5, Issue 5

8/14/2019 Iron Warrior: Volume 5, Issue 5

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A FORUM FOR ENGINEERING CONCEPTS JULY 1984

Freedom of Unpowered FlightHave you ever had the urgeto get your feet off the ground?Many people have, but why do itin a powere d aircraft. I am both

a glider pllot and a power pilotand I find the challenge of soaring mu ch mo re exciting thanpushing the throttle.

Soaring is an amazing sportwhich can give you a day longhigh I learned how to glidethree years ago and since thenI've spent most of my weekendsat the glider field.

Very few people are knowl edgeable about this sport, andman questions have been askedof me over the years. For thosewho are seriously interested, Iha ve collected so me answer s tose questions most commonlyasked.

How do you dr ive ag l ide rAlthough I've seen a fewstudents attempt to "drive"

gliders, the vast majority ofpilots "fly" them. A glider has afull set of controls just like apowered aircraft. The joy-stickcauses the plane to pitch (up,down) and bank \left, and yourother left). The rudder of anaircraft causes a plane to yawhorizontally or pivot around avertical axis. To help a gliderdescend faster, a pilot can opena set of spoilers which will spoil \some of the lift created by thewings. This allows a pilot to'accurately control hi.s speed andaltitude on the final approachfor landing. There is also a setof instruments in the cockpitthat inform a pilot about hisaltitude, speed, rate of ascent ordescent, and d i r e t i o n ~

ow does a g l i de r geto the ground?

Actually there are a varietyof ways to get it up (glider, thatis). The most common metbodis by towing it up at the end of arope with a power aircraft. Atabout 2000 feet, the glider pilotreleases the rope and startssearching for the thermals (lift).Another common method iscaned winching. The winch hasa long metal cable whichextends from the glider to theend of the runway. As the cable

is pulled in around an enginedriven drum, the glider is pulledup like a kite on a 45 degreeangle.ow does a g l i de r s tay

up?On a sunny day, differentlandforms will heat the airabove them at different rates.Hot air bubbles form and if theyare triggered to break awayfrom the ground, a glider can

circle in this rising air to gainaltitude. These rising bubblesoften carry a certain amount ofmoisture which eventually turnsinto a cloud at the top of thethermal. A few days ago, I wasable to climb to 5000 feetbefore I flew into the cloudbase By flying from one cloud(or thermal) to another. a glidercan go cross-country or stay upall day.

You will never becomebored of soaring. Obtaining alicense is only a start. Afterthis, you will be challenged toobtain different award levels.

The first level is for a halfhour duration flight followed hvan hour duration flight. Oncethese are accomplished, thE: nC xtgoal is the silver badge. Thisconsists of a 50 Km cross-country flight, a 1000 ma l t tud':gain, and a 5 hour dura t j')11fligh t. I presen tly ha l- m -)hour and altitude ga il'l nr j amhoping for my cross cou :,try thissummer. Next o m e ~ \-nur gold

badge and finally the sacreddiamond awards. To give you afeel for what is required for thediamond a 'A -'1rd, the altitude gainwill put V I)U high e r than passe nger-carrywg jets:

How safe is g l id ingGliders are subject toinspection regulations just as arepowered aircraft. In addition,every morning before a glidercan take off, every nut, boIt and

surface must be checked by thepilot. Personally, I feel muchsafer in a glider than in a powered aircraft. Instea' of havingan engine that could die in themiddle of nowhere, a glider usually stays within safe glidingdistance of the airport.

Secondlv, since club members are on 'the field all day, anyerror made by a pilot is bound tobe noticed and quickly pointedout to him before an unsafehabit delfelops. In general, Ifeel that i f you drive a car, youare probably taking a grea tel"risk than you would everencounter in a glider.

INSIDE:

How much: $$ ?Soaring is no more expensi vethan many other hobbies or

sports. A yearly membershipfee in a soaring club is about$2.00. After that, ea ch flightcosts between $8 and $20.depending on how long you stayup. For first timers, my cluboffers an introductory flight tonon-members for S18 a shot.

The first st et-- in checkingOllt th lS s port wo u l1 be to takean introd uct o r y fl1-;:1t at a soar ing cl ub, Once 3.ddicted, you'Nill want to 'pr ;>s5 vn and learnhow to fly yourself.

Learning how to fly is notdifficult but it requires dedicati on and pe r severance. Init ialtraining should consist of someground study in preparation forthe written Ministry of Transport exam. This exam covers afundamental knowledge ofmeteorology, navigation, principles of flight, airmanship, andair regulations. You must alsovisit a doctor and get an MOTmedical that says you are alive,can see, and won't pass out whenyou fly solo.

Now for the fun part, flighttraining. You will be taught thebasics by instructors that dedicate their time free of charge.Once the chief flying instructorfeels that you are safe andcompetent, you will be allowedto solo the t >yo- sea glider inwhich you were tra ined.

All there is to do now isbuild up solo experience.Twenty solo flights will giv youyour license, but it will take youthe rest of your life before youwill get close to mastering thE'sport. f you givE' me a phonecall. I would bE' morf> than happyto direct you to local clubs oranswer any fUr>ther q U E : t l o n s .My numbN ic : 388 7-197.

A.V.Roe Canadian Engineering Tragedy 2Canadian Astronaut Selection Procedure 8Bovey Commission: A Waste of Time? 4Power Flying as a Hobby 5


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IRON W RRIORJULY 1984

President's FarewellThe last chapter in theVan Decker Administration.

The last 16 months havebeen the ~ s t challenging of myshort life. We tried new eventsand services for the students.As with any attempt at newthings there is a risk element.This 'risk' was is in how you, thestudents, would receive theideas. I would like to take thisopportunity to thank all the students and class reps who participated over the last 16 months,for making all the risk andeffort seem worthwhile.

But before any of theseactivities could go off therewere many hours spent by theexecutive and directors planningand organizing these events andservices. I would like to thankthe sixty plus people who servedas directors over this period.

In particular I would like togive recognition to the recipients of awards in the last twoterms. The President's Award ispresented to persons who havedone an outstanding jobthroughout one term. Therecipients are selected by consensus of the elected executive.The Paul Plumber Award is thehighest award given out which ispresented to students, staff ormembers of the community for

LETTERSSPF C1Alo R DIC l ISStE

IBOI W l BRIOB o., ... :_COCAINE

rHE 'HIGH' IN HIGH- TECH

Dear Editor:In my opinion the most

valuable part of the Mastersexperience is the opportunity forself education. In the undergraduate program the learning is,confined to a fairly rigidframework outlined by the curriculum, and I found that therewas usually insufficient time toexplore beyond the essentialmaterial.

It was especially frustratingby the time I reached 3rd yearbecause, by then, I began torealize that the whole purposeof my education at universitywas to learn how to learn. (ie:self educa tion)

Yet, there was seldom timeto learn about the things whichinterested me. I think it was atleast partially in response to thisfrustration that I decided to goon for a Masters degree.

In the Masters program Ifound that I had much more

control over the areas that Iexplored and the depth to whicbI . explored them. There wereopportunities to fill in the gapscreated during the mad rush ofthe undergraduate years. Also,there was time to get to knowthe professors and other students and thereby get an interesting new perspective on theundergraduate experience.

There is, however, a kind ofparadox to the Masters program,which results if a studentbecomes too obsessed with theformal part of the program. Asa consequence the course workand thesis receive exe.. essiveemphasis and fhe whc:e experience can become mer.ly a glorified undergraduate degree.One must nO,t get cau:;ht in thevicious circle of working onlyfor high marks and finishing inrecord time.I find it odd that some students work as hard as they can30 that they can leave an intellectually stimulating environment as quickly as possible; Anenvironment which may not beduplicated for the rest of theirlives.

The Masters program shouldbe looked at as a valuableexperience, not a means to getan 8 1/2" x 11 piece of paper.To use an old cliche, "you getout of it what you put into it",and anything that you look forcan be found.Jim A. Jonkman,BASc.,MASc.'84 UW Etymooic Design Inc.

aul Plumber AwardsFall 1983.James Etienne CE84 Special EventsBri.an Kenmir EE8? Garage/MoviesJudy Runnals ME84 Secretary/MiscSummer 1984

Richard Drdul ME8S Enginews/Sec.LIZ Fritsch Office SecretaryDon Ingram ME8S POETS/1st VPDenis Van Decker CH85 Semi's/PREZ

President's AwardFall 1983

Joe CorreiaMurray GambleMike Urlocker

ME8S POETS/ESSECE8S POETS/NautkalEE86 Iron WarriorSummer 1984Paul Lum CE87 Publicitv / Office

John Occhipinti CH85 AdvertisingFrank Steblaj ME8S C & Dutstanding dedication and ser

vice to the Engineering Societyover an extended period of time.This award is decided by a voteof council or by secret ballot.

Dear Mr. Warrior,Having been personally incharge of the headline on page S

of last issue of the IRONWARRlOR, I'd like to say something about the fact that what Iwas in charge of wasn't there.There are two points I'd like .toconsider:A rd like to apologize tothe two authors, and all thepeople who normally would haveread the article (which happens. to be the same couple) had ithad the headline that it didn'thave, which r've alreadyexplained about above.

Thank you for allowing meto implement my 'visions'. Nowbring on the McGowan Administration

2 I'd also like to say thatthis headline tha t wasn't there(see above) which was missingdoes nof reflect on the Jack ofcompetence of both editors andall three people who proof-readthe page. f they s y its myfawt, its my fawt.

Thirdly, I'd like to point outthat there were less typo's lastisue which is because of measlo.

In sincerely,Hom r Watson 3A EE

The IRON WARRIOR is published by the Engineering Societyat the University of Waterloo. Its purpose is to promoteprofessional awareness throughout the campus.

EDITORS: Mike Thomas, Lars Wilke, and Frank van BiesenTYPESETTING: Bill Stefanuk and Nancy BurgersSTAFF: Rob Graham, Dave Cole, Joe Wigglesworth, FrancisChow, Steve Anderson, Wendy Fletcher, Rob Tasker, and thelayout crew.PHOTOGRAPHERS: Ginger Moorey, Amanda LovattSECRETARY: Maria Akot.ADVERTISING: John Occhipinti 885-2563, 885-1211 ext. 2323Special thanks to i l l Stefanuk and ancg urgersfor helping out a t the last momentLetters and Submissions welcome from all faculties. Address to:

Engineering Society BCar1 Pollock HallUniversity of Waterloo,Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1


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4 IRON WARRIOR JULY 1984BOVEY COMMISSION:A WASTE OF TIME?Wend} Fletcher

On June 27, 1984, copies ofthe Bove\ Commission's reportappeared on camp'lS. From theheights of the piles that werestill around the next week, itseemed tha not a lot of peoplewere overly interested in whatthe commission had to say.Strange, how something whichcould quite drastically affect usand our children-to-be, couldarouse such little interest; andeven stranger how all these people who didn't bother to read itreally didn't miss anything at all.

The Bovey Commission.alias The Commission on theFuture Development of the Uoi -versities of Ontario, was es t b-lished Jan. 20, 1984 to" .. present to the government aplan of action to better enablethe universities of Ontario toadjust to changing social andeconomic conditions. Specifically, the commission is lookinga t things such as specializeduniversities, university trainingexaminations, tuition fees, government funding, and facultyrenewal and replacement. Thecomplete list is in the ,appendixof the report.

Obviously, the Commissionis considering some drasticchanges to the university structure. The report, however, doesnot give and clues as to which

way the members of the Commission are leaning. Instead, itstates that ..... the Commissionhas identified some concerns buthas not reached any cone lusions. I t then ?,oes on to a sl< 50specific questions of any insti tution or indi 'idual who has thetime and energy to decipherthem. Overall the questionsseeme:: 10n):1, wordy. and oftenconfu5:ing.

Of tht-> 50 questions, onestands out for a f ~ w reasons, themain reason beillg that theCommissiun requ ':" :;ts an answerto i t from ~ a c h Ontario university as well as Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, The OntarioCollege of Art, and the OntarioInstitute for Studies in Education. The Question reads as follows: "What does gour uni -ve rs i tg (or i n s t i t u t i oncons ider to be ts d is -t i n c t i ve character andro le among the range o fOntar io un i ve r s i -t ies? .. ha t do gou env s -age as the appropr ia teareas o f ac t iv tg uponwhich to focus develop-ment and expansion wi th ingour i n s t i t u t i on? Whichareas might e cont rac tedor e l im ina ted over thenext decade or so?" A marvelously worded question if

there \-e r was one. but to whatavail? i t would be extremelyinteresting to ,discover exactlywhat types of responses theCommission is expecting to thisquestion. It is very hard tobelieve that Dr. Wright, as president of our university, wouldrecommend the elimination ofone 01' mOre of the faculties orprograms which presently exist.This can probably be said of thegoverning bodies of mostOntario universities and institutions.

It is somewhat distressing tosee that after five months ofwork, the commission could notcome up with any recommenda -

tions or ideas. t (the commission) has simply ' put forth a setof questions of which the answerto the most important one couldprobably be predicted by theaverage student.

Nevertheless, the deadlinefor the final report to the Minister of Colleges and Universities is ' November 15, 1984. Thisleaves five months for the commission to collect answers andmake the required decisions.Let us hope that they receivesome good input and weigh itcarefully. The final report ofthe Bovey Commission will nodoubt affect us a lot more thanthis one has.

For more information about the Foundationor any of its programmes, please contact:The Sandford Fleming ,Foundation 'Room 4332,Carl Pollock ~885.()910 or 8 6 - ~ 1 ext. 3440Registered ChariJabie Organization (no,0462275-21 -15)

At the Engineering Convocation on May 26 1984 the Foundation presented eleven silvermedals for excellence in either Co-operative Programme Proficiency of AcademicAchievement to the following students:-

CO-OPERATIVE PROGRAMME PROFICIENCY MEDALSteven Hsin-Liu H l I A N G ~ Chemical EngineeringMichael Hugh VAN D U S E N ~ Civil ,EngineeringAmrik Singh B H O G ~ Electrical Engineering

, Ross Nyal TOMAN, Mechanical Engineering,Steven F SHEVELL, Systems Design Engineering

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT MEDALStephen L H U E R ~ Chemical EngineeringGary Joseph Edward KRAMER, Civil EngineeringMatthew Albert HURAS, Electrical EngineeringPaul Frederick GALPIN, Mechanical EngineeringKurt Kieter R L E B ~ Systems Design EngineeringGregory Lionel SMITH, Electrical Engineering

Managment Science 0 tion


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JULY 1984 IRON WARRIOR 5Battle of the Computer Network Stars

Eric J. DormerDid anyone ever actually use

punch cards? Yes Waterloo'sfirst student computer systemwas implemented with a cafeteria style card reader/printerservice. But times changed, andprograms held together withelastic bands were absorbed bythe infamous WIDJET system,where many terminals wereconnected to a minicomputer.In the late 70's, low cost microprocessors became available,and terminals which used" themwere called smart becausethey were able to do tasks ontheir own without needing thehost computer's resources.

J NET wit ontented oper to r sJANET

Other microcomputers were The JANET network wasdeveloped which were com- developed by Adrian Weerhei mpletely independent and didn't of the Department of Computingneed a host computer for any- Services (DCS) in the wintt'r ofthing. To make use of inexpen- '82. The name could stand forsive microcomputers in an edu- the Jerry and Adrian NET-cational environment, several work , or perhaps its Justfeatures needed to be added... Another NETwork . In any case,the ability to protect files from it is now marketed by WATCOM,unauthorized reading or altera- an offshoot of the Computertion, the ability to distribute and Systems Group.share files between users, the JANET uses an IBM-PC asability to reliably save files the central unit which saves(archive them), and the ability files on a 30 megabyte hard diskto share expensive peripherals and operates a printer. (In theQ ; ~ printers and plotters). JANET systems I have seen, thefhe curre.J)t ideas JoJ: IDl l lJu:: _ -. u= n t e rs we .ckety, unreliable

achfl. aom uni"mitmIrk:ion

an,ice. edThe.oesIlnetedlxil30_Uy30): ofatheorkthethe.msoutgesthe

toillyirsttheing:JanItalerideN-

offhas.iesthe

inLsn't: 01'1

the wall tells users that the systern crash:>5 for at l r l ~ t 4 rea 'sons:1. Adjusting the room thermos tat (no kidding)2. Loosening the rEEF 488 cab1,:-tha t connects a workst a t ion tothe central unit3. Piling paper over the l'oe' ngvents of the video SLreens4. Playing with the> -entral unit(controller). The bla( kboard andsheets on the wall are litteredwith remarks about variousoccasions when thp system wentdown. .JANET also holds a grudge.When the central unit crashes,users who are in the midst ofediting a file are unaffecteduntil they try to save their la t est changes. Even after thecentral unit has been brought upafter a crash, i t doesn't recognize workstations unless 'theyare first turned off, then on.The bot tom line is tha t the us rcan continue editing to hisheart's content. He just can'tpossibly save anything

WATSTARWATSTAR was developed by

the Faculty of Engineering toreplace WIDJET because nothingon the market was available tomeet the demands of the educational environment.The first version,*WATSTAR I, is a network foran 8-bit CP/M-based environment. It ideally supports 30 to60 workstations but can supportup to 255 *WATSTARINTERTEC

I usesSUPERBRAlN

micro-computers asworkstations, and has a dedicated single-board computer asthe central unit. Files are savedon an 80 megabyte hard disk anda high-speed 300 line per minuteprinter handles output.As the name implies,WATSTAR is a star-shaped ne t work with a token passing ring.The station that has the tokengets a chance to talk to thecentral unit, and the token getspassed around amongst theworkstations. The ,network busis a parallel system using simpletwisted -pair cables for each biton short runs. The maximumtransfer rate is about 200kbytes/second.

*WA TSTAR II is the secondversion, and it uses bottom-ofthe-line IBM-PCs for its, work stations. It interfaces naturallyto the IBM-PC's native MS-DOSand hence can run any softwareavailable for the PC. The central unit is a dedicated IBM-PCwhich handles network communications, hard disk drives, andprint spooling. Fiber opticcables can be used to increasethe distance between workstations up to several kilometreswith data transfer rates exceeding 1000 kbytes/second.

Several *WATST AR II systems can be linked together toform rings of rings of workstations. This might be used ina university where each facultywould have its own ring, andeach of those central unitswould be linked into a ring oftheir own.*WATSTAR I currently supports most common languageslike APL, BASIC, FORTRAN,Pascal and application tools suchas word processors(WORDST AR), spread sheets,data base managers. and graphics packages.

In E2-1308, ' a *WATSTAR Inetwork is set up with 3 workstations. The system has provenso popular that it is now loadedfar beyond ideal user c a ~ c i t y .The stations which will comfortably suport about 150 studentsnow have over 350. WATSTARis sometimes in use 24 hours aday with a full complim nt ofus rs ev n t 3:00 AM. Ev rymorning at 4:30 AM, ar hiving issusp nd d for half an hourwhile the syst m automati allybacks up its hard disk. When thsystem was first introduced in1982, it fr qu ntly crashed butnow that th early bugs havebeen worked out it has becomevery reliable.

Although *W ATSTAR I iscurrently available, it is notbeing actively marketed.*WATSTAR II is due to beavailable in the fall of '84 and itis likely that McMaster University will be the first off-campusinstallation. On the horizon isyet another WATST AR to becreated using DEC equipment.

Some enltineering schoolsforce their students to buyequipment which will quicklybecome obsolete, and they areleft without any of the benefitsthat networking provides.Thankfully, the administrationhere at U of W didn't choose thisshort-sighted solution. Instead,they channeled their efforts intoimproving the basic systemalready in place. This hasresulted in several marketableproducts and a place in the frontlines of one aspect of computertechnology. The question is:Who will win? JANET orWA TSTAR ? or do they bothhave their own market? Timewill tell.


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6 IRON W RRIORRefreshing iew on Drinking

by Joe Wigglesworthh e ~ e between 85 and9 of university studentsdrink alcoholic beverages. Thisin itself is not a problem, how

ever the approximately 10 pe rcent of university students whoabuse alcohol is a problem. Onthe campus of Wilfred LaurierUniversity there is a studentgroup that supports each studentin his or her choice to drink ornot to drink and at the sametime wants to help those students who misuse alcohol todrink responsibly.

BACCHUS, the name of theGreek god of wine, is an acronym for Boost Alcohol Con sciousness Concerning theHealth of University Students.BACCHlS is not in favour ofprohibit ioo. BACCHUS is not atemperance movement. t is anetwork of more than 150 st udent groups on university campuses throughout the UnitedStates based at the University ofFlorida where the organizationbegan.

Currently, the group atLaurier is the only BACCHUSgroup on any university campusin Canada. By the end of thissummer this is not likely to bethe case. Thanks to a generousdonation of $15,500 from theAssociation of Canadian Distill ers, a Canadian network ofBACCHUS campus g roups isbeing established. Doug Smith,a third year business student at

Laurier, has been hired for thesummer by BACCHUS to travelto all the university campuses inOntario. He will meet with student and administration repre sentatives to distribute aninformation kit that will helpthem to begin a BACCHUSgroup on their own campus .

The Laurier BACCHUSgroup '.vas founded in the fall of1981 and has grown slowly .andsteadily since that time. Torein for e e their philosophy ofreasonable drinking and thesocial acceptibility of choosingnot to drink, BACCHUS organizes several events throughoutthe year. In the past they havesponsored wine- tasting evenings,an Ale-ohol Awareness Week, abeer Trivial Pursuit nightwhich saw several teams com pete in their knowledge of beertrivia and ability to recognizevarious brands of beer, a studentsurvey examining attitudestoward drinking and a selectionof alternative non -alcoholiccocktails available at the ca m pus pub Wilfs . The group haseven invited the regional. policeto set up a breathalyser outsidethe pub so tha t st uden ts couldvoluntarily check the alcoholcontent of their blood after avisit there.

The group plans to continuethese events and to also sponsorother ev ents such as outdoorbarbeques and concerts in thp.I :ENG SOC B IQ} A FO'UM FOR .G C,, PT'After this issue we go into cold storage but you don t have to.

WANTED FOR J NU RY-APRIL TERM:Editors 5) for Iron Warrior and humourous publications.Ad salesmen 3) Photographers 4) Production Managers 3)Be ready for the January thaw. Apply now at EngSoc;Mike Urlocker Director of Publications.

Drinking in moderation; a bet ter l tern t ivefuture. During frosh week atLaurier this fall. senior ~ t u e n t sclearly identified as BACCHUSBOOSTERS will be visible oncampus to answer any questionsabout the group. Vicki Krotz, aLaurier student who is also thegroup's current director, feelsthat it is very important thatstudents, especially new st udents. know that they have achoice of whether or not theywish to drinlc. They shollid alsoknow that choosing not to drinkis socially a cc eptable and thatther e ,;1 '( ' non alcoholic alterna -

lives.Acc0rding to Doug Smith,one of BACCHUS' strengths isthat it is a peer-based groupwhere responsible drinking ispromoted by friends, notauthority figures. We want to. develop 1 responsible attitude toalcohol. It is important torespect a person's choice todrink or not to drink, to knowone's limits and to realize thathaving a good time ' is notdependent on alcohol. Westress, not abstinence, butresponsibili t y.


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JULY 1984 IRON WARRIOR 7

Engineer in the Fast LanePhil Brearton

This is the true story ofRandy MacDonald, a 3rd yearMechanical Engineering studentwhose main interest is some thing most of us only brieflydream about: auto racing.Randy is one of a new generation of race car drivers. Wi: han engineering degree in theworks, he wants to understandautomobiles, refine the scienceof car racing, and win Thisaggressive and unconventionalapproach to auto racing (andengineering) has raised eyebrowsboth on the campus and on thetrack. \Randy unofficially startedhis stock car racing career atthe age of fifteen managing a2nd place in his first race. Nota bad showing considering theaverage compt-.titor was 40 yearsof age with 15 years experience.Over the next few years heraced mainly in street stock {i.e.production vehicles}. There wasalways some concern over theviability of the profession and hedid not at that time seriouslyconsider racing as a career.Good marks in high schoolgained him entrance into U ofW. He figured mechanical engineering would be by far themost useful to him in his autoracing endeavours.

On his 2A work term, Randyrealized that car racing can bean exciting, rewarding profession which requires engineeringexpertise and a natural talent.The engineering side is beingimproved hPrl? at school whilethe talent is already there. Todate he is the rookie pointsleader at the Delaware racetrack, and rar ly finishes out ofthe top 10. Statistics aside,Randy has had an eventful season. Twice he was spun outintentionally w ~ n passing on acorner, < -nd once he was rammedoff the track by an irate competitor. The other drivers didnot approve of his aggressivepa,ssing techniques. Says Randy,It's a selfish man's sport.

You've got to take every opportunity and forget about man-ners.The type of racing Randy isinvolved in is known as LateModel stock car racing. To- seewhet'e this fits in the hierarchyof racing consider tha the highest level of closed wheel (stockcar) racing is called Gt'andNational. Late Model racing isto Grand National roughly whatJunior 'A' hockey is to the NHL:a training grlJund for gainingexperience. This class of racingis almost identical to GrandNational racing except that regulations have been designed tolower costs.

Unfortunately money isalways a problem. Nevertheless,with support from his family, hehas bousht the best cat' he could

Randg Mac onald in the o kpi t: afford. The aluminum head prototype engine is valued at$15,000. The car was built by

Hanley, one of the top four custom car builders in North America. Overall value: $40,000.. Randy estimates that eachrace costs him $500, and hemanages 2 to 3 races per week.Even on this budget, Randy isoften handicapped before therace begins. Tires, which cost

Crew mem erPete Fitzgerald

5150 each, should be replacedafter a maximum of two races.Often Randy will be forced torun three races on the same setof tires. The tire t'ubber quicklyloses its gripping qualities,meaning that the driver has toslow down excessively aroundcorners. Money is a handicapwhich he feels is slowing hisprogress. He estimates that to

t'emain competitive by keepingthe car in good running ot'derwould cost approx.. $67,000 peryear.S onsors are the sourcemoney that make the tires go

round. Everyone has heard ofSTP; the fame of this companyis attributed largely to the success of Richard Pet ty as a racecar driver. For a company to beassociated with a winner is amillion dollar business (ask John"Bic" M.cEnrol'?). Randy's sponsors are Fran., Champion, andmost import.lntly, Mr. Hanley(builder of th - car). Althoughthe free filters and spark plugsat'e much appreciated, Mr.Hanley's experience is iuvaluableto Randy's young


8/16

/,/

8 IRON WARRIOR JULY 1984

The CanadianG.E. Schneider Mechanical Engineering

As an avid flyer, I have akeen interest in those machineswhich overcome gravity andcarry significant loads throughthe air at varying speeds. Thesemachines represent the combination of many aspects of engineering, all of which have beenintegrated together to form atechnological creation of revolutionary impact. The manyaspects, indudillg fluid flow,heat transfer . af>rodynamics,vibration analysIs. controltheory, st.:shility ana:ysis, elec tronic communication' and navigation, manufacturing, reliability, and optimization, areusually taken for granted by theuser in totl.:lY s hir;h technologysociety. Nev e rt heless , itremains a challenge to mastercontrol of these machines calleoairplanes. As a holder of acommercial Pilot License withClass I Instrument Rating, Ienjoy the challenge and fly asoften as my busy schedule, andmy bank account, will permit.It is therefore not surprising,perhaps, that I would be keenlyinterested in experiencing theultimate flight, that of flight in, space, aboard the revolutionarymachine of today's era, theSpace Shuttle. With my frameof mind thereby established, itwas , not difficult for me tonotice the very brief mention ofa need for volunteers to participate in a Canadian AstronautProgram in a short article inthe Globe and Mail on June 8,1983. Although this was not anivitation for appliLations, Iimmediately called the Ministryof Sta te for Science and Tech nology and submittpd a copy ofmy curriculum vItae. Thusbegan my participation in theCanadian Astronaut SelectionPro' , dure. Since I made it tothe final 68', I ha ;2 he en askedto write this artiL le to describethe selection )ro,: edure. How ever, I mu st mphasize that inmy boo : s, 'fina I 68' is not final

e n o u g h ~The fo rmal lll\ ;Iation for

applications to the CanadianAstronaut Program i\\3.l1y cameon July 14, 1983. 1 this ratherlarge ad ve rtisement, the dutiesof the su cc essful candidates aswell as th relevant qualifications we re -'utl ined. The dutieswould be to. undertake necessary trainiI1P as a Payload Specialist - spend up to 3 y ars withNational Research , Councildevelop (with other engineeringand design staff ) one of the twoCanadian candidate experiments- assist in disse minating information about manned spaceflight and Canadian space activites to the Canadian generalpublic - i f selected for flight,carry out and assess one of theexperimentsThe qualifications for the

Canadian 'Astronauts ' were

stated as; - a university degree,and experience in system development, integration and operation, or in vestibular physiologyand/or motion sickness - satisfaction of appropriate medicalrequirements - practical flyingexperience (as an asset)knowledge of both official languages (as an asset)

fhe second experiment, tha tin which I felt I would be able tocontribute more substantially,was designated as the SpaceVision Experiment. Contrary towhat the name suggests, however, this experiment does notinvolve vision in its biologicalform, bU,t rather involves a system designed to provide operators of th e Rem o te ManipulatorSystem (Canadarm) with greaterinformation pedaining to theinstantaneous position andmotion of the 'arm'. Indeed,such a system would be alsoused to interface this informat icn with o n b o a ~ d computers andelectronic controllers to renderprocesses, such as the 'capture'of satellites, automatic andindependent of human operatorintervention. , One of the primary motivations for such asystem is the protection of thearm itself. The Canadarm is avery fragile device, designed foroperation in a gravity-free environment, and consequently itcannot withstand significantloads. In the capture of a satellite, or other orbiting object, itis therefore necessary to avoidsubstantial velocities ofapproach of the arm to theobject in order to preventexcessive inertial loads on thearm's structural components.The primary measur t: ment SV5tern to be used in , he determi nation of positional information,from whose history velocitiescan be determined, is a systemwhich is essentiallv a geodirneter. Civil engineers will recog nize this as a deli ice used insurveying for distanl e measure ments. After the initial invitation for applications, morethan 4400 applications werereceived for the 6 positions.(One person to actually 'fly',with a dual backup, for each ofthe 2 experiments.) I'm 'surethat this large num bel' of applicants exceeded even the mostpessimistic estimates of theofficials invoLed in administering the program. Since it wasexpected that resumes would besubmitted with the applications,an initial cut was performed onthe basis of the ~ u b m i t t e d information. I was informed in aletter dated August q 1983, thatfurther consideration was beinggiven to my candidacy. I wasnow one of approximately 1800remaining candidates for the 6positions. At this time, the following actions were required to

Astronaut Sele

Space Shut t i e Coiul 1biapermit further elimination to beeffected; - completion of anapplication for employment withthe National Research Councilof Canada, including personalbackground, academic performance, work experience, andresearch activities - preparationof a 'Statement of Interest ' inwhich the reasons why I wasinterested in th e ' program andwhy the program should beinterested in me were to beoutlined - completion of a preliminary medical questionaire,which, although both preliminaryand based on self-evaluation,was quite extensive - submissionof the names and addresses ofpersons who are familiar withmy activities and performance -submission of appropriate transcripts and diplomas.With regard to the requiredreferences, a standard fOrm wasemployed, a ' blank version ofwhich I have seen, which is quiteextensive. In this regard, I amindebted to those who acted as areference for me, for it musthave been a laborious task toprovide responses to all of thecontained questions. After supplying the requested information, another period of anticipation and waiting began.

I was informed on September 30, 1983. tha t the list ofcandidates had beetl culled to 68and that [ was still in contentionfor one of the 6 positions. Thisnext phase of elimination was toinvolve the following activities;

submission of a completedsecurity clearance form acomprehensive medical examination at the Downsview Canadian Forces Base. Torontoparticipation in a briefing session, a media session, and aninterview with a screening committee, all to be held at theConstellation Hotel in Toronto

Ha ing previou.:,ly completedthe security clearance form, andhaving successfl.i11y qualified forthe n e c e s ~ a r v clearance at thattime, this task was ' easily performed

shown top a Boeing 747The medical examination

required a trip to the CanadianForces Base in Downsview (afterthe requested pre-examinationfast), and resulted in a half-dayof examination and tests. Thefollowing tests were conductedas part of this examination; -blood pressure and pulse ratemeasurement visual acuitymeasurement - colour blindnesst e s t i n ~ complete audiogramtesting height and weightmeaSUrf,L -nl - chest measure-ll ha 1 > and exhale)extraction of numerous vials ofblood samples - reflex testing -thorough examination by theBa se Surgeo n

Having been exposed toalmost all of the above testingas a routine requirement formaintenance of a CommercialPilot License, I felt confident insatisfying the necessaryrequirements. [n discussionswith the Base Surgeon. MajorHuxter. I discovered that therequirements to be met werethose of a Jet Figh ter Pilot inthe Canadian Forces. and further that he felt that I metthose more than adequately. Ialso discovered that he had beeninstructed not to discuss themedical condition of the candidates with the candidates,themselves, an instruction towhich he refused to comply.The next phase of the process involved the briefing sessions and thE' interview. itself,with the s< r E e n ~ r committee.The candi .latf> briefing entaileda presPlltati',Hl by members ofthe screenll,'S commit tee ofsome a ~ p e t s of the program ofan overvie .. Ilature, a presentation of somp specific aspects ofthe program relating to the twoplanned experiments, and asocial hour in which the candidates had the opportunity tomeet the other candidates andthe members of the screeningcommittee, themselves. Thepresentations were , r e l a t i v ~ l ybrief and hence they did notsuggest questions of a detailed


9/16

JULY 1984 IRON W RRIOR 9

tion Procedurenature. In a more generalframework, therefore, I inquiredwhat the long-range plans of theCanadian Astronaut Prog ramwere. The surprising response Ireceived was that there we reNO long range plans beyond theimmediate two experiments(This might actually not be so surprising, but, rather, be considered typically Canadian.) Theonly consolation orovidp.o wasthat if the current program wassufficiently successful, strongarguments could then be madefor continued participation inspace exploration and development in a mannE d programcapacity. I also inquired, inpersonal conversation with oneof the screening committeemembers, if all supplied references would be consulted irrespective of their nationality andlocation of residence. Theassured response was that, definitely yes, all supplied references would be consul ted. Ihave subsequently learned thattwo of my supplied referencesfrom south of the border havenever been contacted regardingthe program. In view of thevery definitive response to myquestion. this seems somewhatsurprising.My actual interview withthe committee occurred onOctober 26, 1983 at 11:30 a.m.In a pr ecious mailing, I hadreceived "as a possible aid inpreparation for the interview" acopy of the Detailed JobDescription/ CandidateRequirements for each experiment. . For the Space VisionExperiment, this document contained the items shown in theinset on this page.The meeting wlth the committee was held in a comfortably sized room with all members

of the screening committeewere; 1\ Madelel:1E' Hinchey,Secretary-Gener;:j1 of NRC(chairman ), 2,1 Karl Doetsch,Director of the Canadian Astronaut Program, 3) Lorne Kuehn,Manager of the Space Adaptation Experiment, 4) Ray Marchand, Interd epartmenta l Committee on Space, 5) Clive Willis,Director of Public Relations,NRC, 6) Ray Dolan, Chief ofPersonnel Se r vices, P COf considerable surprise, but

only in hindsight, is the make-upof the committee. Of the 6committee me mbers whose Jobit was to select indi viduals forparticipation in a presumablyhighly te chnical mission, only 2of the membNs had any directexperien< e in thf' subject areasinvolved in the experiments,these belllg Karl Doetsch for thespace Vision Experiment andLorne Kuehn for the SpaceAdaption Experiment. Indeed,these are the only 2 memberswith a technical involvement atall However, hindsight beingwhat it is (usually better thatZO/20), this doesn't do muchgood now. Perhaps next time,should there be one(?)

The interview, I felt, wentvery well. The atmosphere wasvery open and friendly and Ithought that I answered verywell those questions that Ideemed to be important to suc cessful achievem e nt of the mission objectives Man y of thequestions, ho wever, seemed tobe somewhat un related toachieveme nt of the specifictechnical objectives. . Indeed,there were few (actually, I can'tremember an y ) que st ions whi chwere specific ally technical.Rather, emphasis seemed to beplaced on less tangible, morepublic relations related , issues.

BACKGROUND EXPERIENCE - experience in system development integration and assessment in ma n- machine systems - inparticular with r c :ard to display and control aspects - experiencein engineering sy '> , em development, and real-time system adjustment - experiencE' as an operator of complex systems - experience in working as part of an engineering development team -experience as flight crew TASKS PREFUGlIT - participation insystem development and assessment - interfacing with engineering devisions and flight operations directorate at NASA, NRC,and the Canadian contractor - specialist training in system operation - training with NASA - public relations IN ORBIT - systemset-up for various tasks - assessment of and accommodation toon-orbit environmental conditions - assessment of system and itsadjustments to off-nominal operating conditions - support of RMSoperator and orbiter pilot to best use machine vision informationduring RMS/Payload track and capture, payload berthing andorbiter to payload rendez-vous - eKperimental leadership inmetrology task POST FUGlIT - on -orbit flight assessment engineering report - system development for space qualification -continued interfacing with user and engineering teams - publicrelations

Armed with this information, I prepared a document whichoutlined to various ways in which I felt that I met the indicatedrequirements. This document was formatted in a point by pointfashion, a d d r e s s ~ n g each of the above-mentioned points insequence. \

'

Prof. G.B. Schneider says he d do t againOne of the relatively unrelatedquestions was "how many spaceshuttle flights have there been?While the above examplequestion is an extreme case, theother major issues, in terms oftime spent in discussion,included a fake interview inwhich one of the mem be rsgrilled me on the evils of ourinvolvement in a space programdirected at weapons development, a discussion of how Imight adjust my long work hourschedule to accommodate anemergency in the ground bas ddevelopment and prepar tionprogram, a discussion of thtime that might be required tobecom = fully fluent in the oth rofficial language, and a discussion of how th e Ca nadian SpaceProgram offers benefit to Canada. There bei ng no writt enmaterial allowed during th einterview it would a ea r that

picion mounted that the news,when it came, would not bewhat I had hoped. This indeedwas the case. I was informed inlate afternoon that I was notone of the final ZO remaining incontention for the envied 6positions. Slightly stunn


10/16

1

Rob Graham:Why i s l e rn ingnot a pr im ry goal?The recent state of the

economy has led to fierce competition for dominance in one'sfield of study fuelled by theneed for achievement andacceptance. All very well andgood. Isn't competition what thegame of life is all about? But,we must examine the facts moreclosely. How are we goingabout the business of establishing ourselves as potential candidates for a successful career?What is our main target forworking at our studies? Is ittruly the pursuit or excellenceor the pursuit of higher marks?Are the two directly related?

After spending s :eral yearsat this institution lA e all ;;;row tolove and hate, the p d ~ h y tendsto fade, and we realize that thisis where we are planning ourfuture. Then why is i t that weall strive for those inanimatelittle symbols known as marks?Why is learning not our primarygoal? Why are we not strivingto become bet tel' human beingsso as to better serve our fellowman? Is that not what we are

IRON W RRIOR JULY 1984

The Learning Experience- A Personal

taught is right? Are we in factachieving these goals inadl.:ertantly, or is there a fla .... in thesystem? Is therE" a bet ter sys tern? Many qu' :>tion:. and fewanSWf'rs.

Wt. hE-ar comments abouttht:? d e c l i n i n ~ quality of engi neE'ring gradua tE S . The APEO istrying to ,make adm issionrequirements stiffer. Perhapsthe present engineering curriculum cannot keep up with themassive volume of knowledgerequired in a fast growing technological age. Perhaps we areoverly concerned with markssince from a student's point ofview, this is how we compete ina shrinking job market. Possiblythe curriculum should place lessemphasis on ' marks and allowmore emphasis on learning. Anidealistic dream i f ever therewas one.

Let us exa 01 ine severalobservations tha t rna y providesome food for thought into therole of the learning environmentas i t pertains to the engineeringstudent.

Let us first consider theclassroom as a learning environment. There are many important contributing factors thatmake or break a positive atmosphere conducive to learning.Factors such as the physicallayout, the professor's presenta tion and attitude. the coursecontent, the classes attitude,etc. are all important to thepromotion of the learning environment.

Comment

From a physical poin t ofview factors such as classroomsize, layout, visibility, air condi tioning, etc. can pl y largerole in - the attention span ofstudents. For example, we allknow bow hard it is to conCE'ntrate when we're freezing todeath or sweating so much thatall we can think about is thatcold root beer waiting at homein the fridge. It is frustratingwhen we can't hear what isgoing on or can't see the boardbecause of poor lighting or manyheads in the way. How easy is itto sit ancl pay .ttentio n whenyou are cramped into a seatwhere the only way to takenotes is to prop your feet up onthe back of th*= seat in front ofyou? Does anyone enjoy thedungeon - likell' atmosphere of

the Engineeering Lecture Hallwhere there are no windows tosupply us with that vital contactwith the outside world and thatvaluable vitamin D we get fromthe sun's radiation?The professor's presentationis very important in making acourse interesting. We all canappreciate the fact that welearn far more when we areinterested. Although this aspectis monitored through course critiques, often it is personalitytraits and a teaching abilitywhich simply can't be taughtthat has a large impact. Howmany people can recall sufferingfrom a short attention span sim ply because they have no concept of what is being discussed?Often the treatment of thematerial seems trivial but completing a single problem on thehomework assignment seemsgrounds for genius status. Thiscan lead to an extra hour ofmuch-needed s ~ e e p during a lecture or a chance to catch up onthe latest gossip or a jam session on this week's assignment.To keep 95 people's attention fora whole hour seems to require agood sense of humour or simplyincredibly interesting material.

The course material issomething which must be continua lIv altered to suit the

c h a n g i ~ g tel.. hnology. This is nota simple t s ~ and often it seemsthat too much matel ial isjammed into too shol"t timespan. Frequently there is veryl i t t le t ime to spend on problemsof intel est unless dil ectlyrelated to marks, and that is ashame.

One observation I havenoted right from day one is the

. I . : . ~ ~ b l e impact of attitude on

class-prot essor re la t ions. WhenI hear comments ,to the effectthat a class has a poor attitude,I find this difficult to rationalize. A class is mad;: up of scmany different in j I , iduals, itseems hard to imagtllt:- them allrolled up into a s ; I \ ~ l e attitude.While there are always ind ividuals in a class who may have adifferent perspe c ti \',. and liketo raise a little hell, surely werealize that this is something wemust live with wherever we go.However, when a professorcomes in on the first day andlectures to a class on theparent-to-child level, a problemis born. As we are taught in ourManagement Sciences, this moreoften than not illicits a responsefrom the child state. Once abad relation starts,. it is difficultto repair. Not impossible, butdifficult. I t seems that professors who relate on the adultto-adult level gain respect anddevelop much more congenialrelationships with the class. Inthese cases, peer pressure usually checks any negative influences.

Another interesting observation is the engineering students themselves. I t isinteresting to note that theengineering faculty has one ofthe highest concentrations ofunique individuals and very brilliant minds. These are usuallyindividuals who are used to beingleaders frQm their bighschoolsand have never really experienced the follower role. Someare social leaders and othersintellectual leaders. This creates a drastic adjustment pE'riodfor many students as thE' P('( Iringorder is rearranged. Some students never fully adjust 'to thE'irnew role and this leads to highstress. The fear of losing socialcontact by missing social eventsto s t ~ d y is a very real pressurefor many students. These internal stresses can be anotherimportant factor affecting thelearning environment.

While I am not proposing anymiracle solution, I think i t isimportant to realize the manyfactors involved and not be tooquick to point the finger at anyone person, place or thing. Weare, after all, one of the finestengineering learning centl es inthe country, and must therefol ebe doing many things right. Thisis a far from perfect world welive in, howevel", and as long aswe realize some of the problems we face, we can work togetherto impl"ove the learning environment


11/16

JULY 1984 IRON WARRIOR 11The Social Impact of Computerization

Doug MacKinlay, WPIRG Staff

With t he computer revolution m a k i n ~ inroads into mainaspects of our daily lives, it isimportant to know how Canadians are reacting to it . A recentsurvey report by Bell Northernindica tes t ha t Canadians aregenerally optimistic about theoverall effects of computerization, but that they are at thesame time wary of the socialimpacts.

The survey report, calledCanadians and the Chip, wascompiled by Brian Milton ofBell's Social and EnvironmentalA,ffairs Dept. ' The report analyzes two comparable surveys(1981 and 1982) that polledattutudes of Canadians allacross the coun t ry.

The seven chapters of ther e p o ~ t focus on new micro-electronic te c hnology. The firstchapter briefly lists results fromvery general questions aboutattitudes to changes. Aboutthree-quarters of Canadians feelthat recent change has been forthe better, although ove ." halffeel that new technology isdestroying many of our traditional ways.

The second chapter identifies which Canadians use newtechnology. I t shows that ma le shave more access then females,and that most users are between18 and 44 years old. The reportis somewhat more specific thanthis article. Also, Brian Miltonasserts that the findings fromthe surveys are simila ." to otherresearch findings from othercorporate, government, andGallup polls.

The next two chaptt"'t's f I I ;on how people feel about thprelationship between micro - chLptechnology and emploVlnpnt.The affluent are more confidentabout new jobs; other than thatthere are few other attitudinaldifferences along class lines.Provincially, however, Quebe cers are much more concernedabout unemployment and newjobs than other Canadians. Halfof those who believe that newjobs won't be created for di splaced workers advocate keepingthem employed instead of using'efficiency enhancing' technology. 'Self-achievers' are muchmore optimistic about all theimpacts. Women are, in general,more concerned about potentialhealth hazards than are men.

The survey indicates thatmost Canadians may be becom ing more pessimistic about theimpact on jobs. Figure 1 compares attitudinal responses tothe surveys in 1981 and 1982. I tdoes show that most Canadiansfeel that micro-chips improveprosperity, and that most, ifgiven the choice, would chooseefficient technology over jobpreservation. But, those numbers decreased substantially inonly one year. As well, the

other three categories in Figure2 show an increasing wariness ofsome of the nega ti ve socialimpacts.

The graph only meas:,reschanging Canadian att i tudesabout micro- chip technology; itdoes not measure the actualrelationship of chips with productivity and employment. Theincreasing pessim ism maybe areflection of the recession. andof growing skepticism of new jobcreation programmes. We willhave to wait for later surveyreports to see if growing pessimism is a long-term trend.

Chapter Five is entitledLimits and Responsibilities ,

and providps results from nor mative questions about howmino -c hlp tE'chnC'logy should beregulated. Sevellty -five percentof Canadians in 1981 felt thatgovernm " ot should controlworkp1a ':e technology changes toensure that their effectswouldn't be too severe on anypart of the public. The 1982survey indicated a drop to 60%of Canadians who feel this way.This drop is quite interesting,given the parallel increase inpessimism.

By far, most Canadians feelthat the wOt'ke rs a nd the publicshould have a fair and informedrole in determining the computerization of th e wOt'kplace.Eighty-three perLent in both1981 and 1982 asse t t ed thatautoma t ic renegot ia tion ofexisting contracts should occuri f a major change involving newtechnology is being introduced inthe wo ."kplace. Even mOt'e (90 )agreed that research on theeffects of new technologiesshould be jointly conductedbetween employers andemployee representatives andthat the results should be madepublic.

A question about who shouldbe responsible for retraining orfinding alternate employmentfor chip-displaced workersreveals a surprising differencebetween 1981 and 1982 surveys.There is a notable shift towardgovernment and employee ratherthan employer responsibility.

Almost all believe thatmicro-chip technology will giveus more leisure t ime and moreinformation. Three of everyfour Canadians believe that living standards will be raised.The outstanding negative effectsare the concerns that fewerpeople will control information,and that personal privacy isjeopardized. The concern aboutpersonal privacy intensified significantly between 1981 and1982.

It is worthwhile adding thatthe survey reports that eventhose Canadians well a c q u a i n t ~ dwith micro-technology are veryconcerned about the threat toprivacy. Th; ; finding counters

IMPROVES PRODUCTlVITY ANDPROSPERITYCHOOSE EFFICIENTTECH OVER JOBPRESERVATION

BUT.. .INCREASESUNEMPLOYMENT

ENDANGERSCOMMUNITIESAND ,

JOB LOSSESNOT OFFSET

b

I0

- -- -

J39'.

10 20 30 40

- . - - J87 %8Z .1m.

6:r".

163',

J46 ,67" .

01981 Su,vey.1982 Survey47%

50 60 70 80 90 100

Figure 1QUESTION' In the future how do you expect m ; c r o ~ e l e c t r o n ; c

technology will effect the fol/owing?MORE LEISURE TIME 86%INFORMATION MOREAVAILABLE 86'1'.

HIGHER LIVING 75%STANDAROEASIER ACCESS 6:r'/.TO ORGS,

BEnER QUALITY 55'1'.DECISIONSPRODUCE FEWER 54%MIS TAKEsrCONFUSIONMORE PERSONAL 53%OPPORTUNITY

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100' On t ar lo/ Qu ebec on lV (1982 Surve y)

the assntio'l that only thosewho know lit tIe ..:>r nothing aboutmicro h n o l o ar e sk e pt i calof its sod I impac t s. It is tr ue ,how e ve r, that th o. with r cadyaccess to mil..ro- tC displacement.

The report conL'ludcs thatcurrent micro-chip technology iselitist but that there is high andgrowing popular interest. Thereis widespread acceptance oftechnological efficiency, but~ h a t this acceptance is contingent on (the) creation of newopportunities, either jobs orpersonal advancement .. "

A primary reason tha Bellsponsored the surveys was toanalyze the relationship betweenattitudes to new technology andthe fear (created by) economic,

Figure 2social, political and personaluncertainties. Also, Bell sensesthat t 'hnological c hang isb coming top issu in thcountry.

To incr asp. aw .]t'pnt.ss h 1' t UW, a new prog ramlTl P calledSociety, TeChnology and Valu sis b ing initi vrl by severaldeans and prof ( s:;ors. Also,WP[RG will b sponsoring a co n f erence in Mar t: to. 1985, tha t willbe about technology and sustainable community development,to whllh Brian Milton will bein\:ited. The report can be borrowed frum th WprRG library,room 217, Campus Centre. Alsoavailable is the text Social

r m p a c : . . . t ~ of Comput eriza:ti'O'n,which is a report from a conference held here;' in UW in 1982.

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12/16

2 IRON W RRIOR JULY 1984

A V RoeC N DI N ENGINEERING TR GEDY

Lars WilkeA.V. Roe had its birth inlate wartim e Canada as a sub sidiary of Hawker Siddeley ofGrea t Britain. From a smallaircraft company it blossomedinto one of Canada's largestcorporations, owning interests inmany diverse companies i'omcoal production to aerospacedevelopment. ' At its peak in1958 it employed 41,000 peopleand had net sales of $380 milliondollars. More notable than itsmeteoric rise was its even more

sudden disappearance as anindustrial power, leaving behindit a fiery history and manyunanswered questions.Two of the most notablecreations of A.V. Roe were theC-IOl Jetliner and the CF-I05Arrow. With these and otherdevelopments. Canada waspushed into the forefront of aviation technology giving us one ofthe largest and most competi-

tive of such industries in NorthAmerica. Despite the high aspirations held for these products,both the Jetliner and the Arrowsuffered the same ignoble death.The end of the second WorldWar brought with it many innovations, one of more revolutionary of which was the gas turbineor jet engine. Civilian aviation,unlike their military counterparts were slow to capitalize onthe new technology and morethan ten years passed before jettransport became commonplace. This was not any fault ofthe designers who proposed suchconcepts soon after the inception of the t e r h n o l o g i e ~ .

Leading the pack at thattime was A.V. Roe. In 1945,Trans Canada Airlines (precursorof Air Canada) outlined a set of specifications for Avro engi neers, calling for a thirty-sixseat aircraft capable of speedsof 425 mph and distances of1200 miles. The solution arrivedat was a twin jet aircraft havingthe distin diroN tion and purposeof the Arrow project. As a goodexample, the de',elopment of theairframe was well undel' waybefore it was decided that adifferent weapons system should'be used. This required' majol'redesigns and furthermore the


13/16

JULY 1984 RONW RRIOR 13A.V. Roe - Canadian Engineering Tragedy Voodoo. Although the Arrowalso would have het"n replacedbv now. had it :>urvived wew'ould have had a n ait'craftindustx.-y capable of ..:r ea ting i ts

replacement. The r esult wouldhave been much mo re suited forour own uses.

newly chosen spanow missilesystem was c.anc elled in mid -de velopment leaving yet moredecision making. The initialelectronics system was alsoscrapped in favour of a moreadvanced one. Spending wasstretching the initial budget well

beyond its intended limits.On March 25, 1958 amidgrowing controversy over thecosts and effectiveness of theArrow, Jan Jurkowski guided thefirst brilliant white prototypeinto the sky. That the plane wasa thoroughbred .was never atdoubt. Streaking high above, itquickly captured the hearts andminds of the Canadian public.As the flight tests progressed itbecame apparent that Canadianknowhow and workmanship hadcreated the very best in theworld. An achievement all couldbe proud of. Even with theoriginal Pratt and Whitneyengine, which was less powerfuland heavier than the intendedIroquois engine, the Arrowreached Mach 1. 97. In topspeed, ceiling, range and otherareas the customer would getwhat he wanted and more.As development continued,costs soared. The governm entbegan to get cold feet as spending for the air force approached50% of the defence budget .Rumours of cancellation cameearly in the life of th e projectand employees simply learned tolive with the continual bickeringas they got on with th e ir work.Since the incept ion of theproject, the role of th e bomoerhad tal'en a back seat as a strategic wea pon. With the diminished usefulness and everincreasing costs the Arrowseemed destineri to fail.Attempts to selJ the illterc;eptor. to the U.S. (a country with itsown aircraft industry to protect)were met with emphatic refusals. The Americans, on theother hand, were quite willing tooffer to sell Canada interceptorsshould the project be cancelled.

No one was willing to .makethe politically unpopular decision of scrapping the project.Incessant debate and indecisioncontinued and as the projecthung in the balance it continuedto consume funds. By August of1958, the Diefenbaker govern ment had made the decision tocancel the Arrow project behindclosed doors. t took another sixmonths, however, for thp projectto e officially cancelleod in parHame'lt allowing time for tht>conservatives to pl'epore for th('political aftershocks. Anotherten million dollar.. a pumpt"dinto the 'project in tho ,ntt"r t>n ing time, added to I ne morethan S100 million a l r N i ~ \ open .

On the day of the announcement, a wave of disbelipf sweptthe ranks of the employees ofA.V. Roe. Th@ planE' in whichthey had placed >O much prideand effort wa - never to flyagain. Latpr that day, A.V. Roelaid off 14.000 workers. Hardest

hit was the Malton plant wheremost of the development workhad taken place.

About 2 months after thecancellation came the deepestcut of all. The order was given,from a source to this dayunknown, to ruth essly destroythe 6 prototype Arrows includingall pictures, blueprints and documentation. It was as i f toobliterate the fa ct that theArrow had ever existed and indoing so to hide the tremendousbungling associated with theproject.

After the Arrow wasscrapped, 66 F-IOl "Voodoo"interceptors were purchased tocarry ou t the role intended for.the Arrow. It seemed that theborn bel' threa t was not smallenough to ignore completelyafter aU.

The performanc e of theVoodoo c am e nowhere near thatof the Arrow and. wot'se still, itprovided jobs and industrialdevelopment for Americans, notCanadians. With no civiliancontracts to support it, Avrofolded and A. V. Roe beca'meHawker Siddeley of Canada andfaded quietly into the woodwork.Many of the skilled ~ o r k e r s andengineers, disillusiof'l' d withCanada. left for rrturf' fruitfulcompan: in th( Vnit d States.The loss of milar, power andhuman res()urcl-'S v a as much atragf;:dy as the 9 : of pride andself-respE-1. t ill Ca :ltidian industry. Over twenty \ears later, theVoodoos have t ~ n replaced byF 1 8 fighte r . \to t rceptors.These planE'S are no Tl(o re suitedto Canadian needs than was the

Although the fat e of A. V.Roe is lamentable, it is moreimportant to learn from theevents \ of the tragedy. Canadahas many companies with brilliant and imaginative people intheir employ. We are capable ofdeveloping the best in the woddand must learn to foster thefruits of our own innovation.As engineers, most of us willattain positions where we mustmake decisions on whether tosupport our industry or take aneasier foreign alternative. Wewill always be relegeted to therank of a second-class industrialnation unless we avoid thedestruction of our own inventions.

Thursday July 26Waterloo Inn4 advance$ 5 at the doorat fedsoc engsoc artsoc


14/16

14 IRON WARRIOR JULY 1984

CAD / CAM in UWENGINEERINGFrank van Biesen

Computer Aided Design /Manuf cturing (CAD/CAM) is aterm used frequently in a modern engineering context. Infact, it is used so often and in somany different situations that asa re5 1 it ' becomes somewhatdifficult to define. Simply saying, for example, that it is theprocess of using some sort ofcomputer a tool or aid indesign work is far too general.After all, ever y tim e we pick upour calculator (as sophisticatedas they have become), we areessentially using a computer asan aid in our work. ComputerAided Design / Manufacturing istherefore the use of comput;cs(micros right up to large scale.mainframes) along with hardware p e ~ i p h e r l s (plotters,graphics terminals, manufacturing machinery, machine shopequipment, robots, etc.) andspecially designed softwarepackages to do specific designwork.

In the Faculty of Engineering here at UW, several professors in different departmentshave a keen interest in developing and improving CAD/CAMtechniques in their own areas ofresearch.

Pro f I f I be 8 masryhead o f the LSI group

The very particular applications of these packages makethem extremely powerful, but atthe same time extremely limitedin their range of use.In order to do this, however,they will need ne", equipmentincluding mainframe computerresources, micros, and so on.With the ret: ent nf ws of the $65million deal Vwlth ,);gital Equipment Co., it oks as i f thesen e e d ~ wiU fulfilled. Alreadyat l(>ast on\. pr Jessor from eachdepartment has obtainedapproval for his research as wellas partial allocation ot Hip.incoming DEC equipment. Togive an idea of what types ofCAD/CAM are being looked at,described below are some of theparticular proj ? ' t5 in the differ ,ent department ".

Prof. G. R. Sulli van ofChemical Engineering is headinga team of rec;earchers into using

Pro f G C Andrews work ing a t Calma des gns ta t i onCAD techniques in the area ofprocess design and simulation.At the present time the department uses a type of softwarecalled ,SPEEDUP to do the simulations. Part of the problemwith process simulation is thefast response time required toaccura tely model the operationof a certain process. To obtainthis fast response, the modellingprograms must be run on dedicated hardware (ie. the computer's sole function is to runthese programs). Eventually,the goal is to have a plant oper ator training centre which willbe able to take someone whoknows virtually nothing about aprocess right up to a qualifiedplant operator. Here especiallythis dedicated hardware isimportant since the responsetimes of the simulations mustaccurately resemble those underopera ing condi ions. For thiswork, Professor Sullivan hasbeen allocated access to a DECVAX 78 computer as well assome of the other DEC equipment.

In Electrical Engineering tProf. M.I. Elmasry and 8 otherprofessors form the Very LargeScale Integration (VLSI) group.According to Prof. Elmasry,micro-chip integration is gettingso high that within a few yearsit will be possible to put theequivalent of 1 million transistors on a single chip (appx. 1/4X 1/4 square). With the present design techniques this typeof mind-boggling m i c r o h l o l -ogy would require about 30 - 50man-years to design and implement. This amount of time (andtherefore money) makes thistype of technology uneconomical. The goal of the group'sresearch, therefore, is to createand develop CAD techniques andtools to reduce this time by upto a factor of 10. For hisresearch, Prof. Elmasry alreadyhas access to 2/3 of a VAX and

;

he speculates that his group willrequire one more each year forthe next few years. In addition,he is recelvmg a completedesign station as well as anautomatic drip testing station,together worth about $250 thousand. The VLSI group is supported financially by the $1.6million research grant receivedfrom NSERC last year.Prof. M. Chandrashekar ofthe Systems Design departmenthas also applied for and receivedpermission to use part of thenew DEC equipment. He andProf. K.C.T. Hollands ofMechanical Engineering are theco- designers of W ATS UN, asolar energy sY5tem modellingand analysis software package.This package is already quitepopular, being used by consultingengineers and government agencies all over the country. It isprovided as a service and userscan simply tap into the systemfrom any location. Prof.Chandrashekar's research dealswith improving the WATSUN- program by comparing its sim'ulating capabilities to an actualsolar energy facility. The university actually has such afacility located on the northcampus where readings 3.ndmeasurements are constantlymade. The goal of this researchteam's efforts will be to createa data acquisition and analysissystem for this solar facility andto use this information inimproving WATSUN. He wouldlike to see some dedicated hardware for WATSUN, for moreefficient running of the program.

In the department of Management Science, Prof. J.B.Moore is looking a little more atthe manufacturing side ofCAD/CAM. His research isinvolved with the rather newtechnolo :IT of Flexible Manufacturing SY5tp.m;,. These aremachin E S or set.; of machines

which are capabl.. of makingmany different t ype5 of parts, asopposed to the c l a ~ c , i c a l machinewhich may fabricate one item indiffer e nt sizes. These flexiblemanufat'turing systems are ableto retool themselves, and supplythemselves with the necessarymaterials in order to fabricatethe different parts. Used inconjunction with the FMS areautomated guided vehicles, atype of drone or robot whichsupplies the machine with . thenecessary tools .and materials.These systems are completelyautomated and numerically controlled, and therefore ext6remelycostly. In order to make themeconomical, they must be keptas busy as possible to gain a highoutput rate. One very importantproblem which (s therefore afocus of Prof. Moore's researchis the scheduling of the FMSresources which must be synchronized perfectly to allow forsmooth operation.

In the del-art ment ofMechanical Engineering, Prof.G.C. Andrews is also involved incomputer aided design. Anexisting VAX computer supportssoftware packages for use infinite-element analysis, kinematics, and dynamics ofmachinery, as well as twoCALMA CAD/CAM high resolution graphics stations. TheCalma software has severalcapabilities: t,here is a comput er-aided drafting package, and aNC mill tool path analysis package. Prof. Andrews, as well asbeing involved in his own CADwork, is also a member of agroup of professors headed byProf. B.L. Wills of SystemsDesign. This group has one representative from each department and is studying how CADand CAL (computer-aided learning) can be integrated into theengineering curriculum. Theculmination of this study couldlead to an Engineering EducationResearch Centre (EERC); possibly by 1986.

Irrespective of what thisstudy's conclusions might be, itis obvious that some changes aregoing to be required in theundergraduate curriculum. Prof.Andrews says that he can seethe day when there will benothing but computer-aideddesign. Jokingly, he adds thathe can also see sometime in thefuture, someone will approach adesigner working at a CAD station, look at the drawing on thescreen, and say Did you knowthat you can can do tha t using apencil and paper? You just takethis T-square like so. and ...".So goes moderniza tion.


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JULY 1984

Francis ChowPeople who fly small planes

begin flying them for the fun offlying. Later, they comE> toappreciate the ancUlary pleasures of small plane flight -things not conn '-.- ted with flyingat all. TherE> 3rt flying clubs toJOlO, rE>n)ot e pla( es to visit,things to be seen from differentviewpoints Oike farmland, riversystems, citiE>s, and nuclearpower st at l,ms :, a nd most of alla never ending supply of chall e n g e ~ for unlike big planes (ofwhich there are only a few basictypes), small planes are diverse.There are a multitude of different designs, and each demandsnew skills of her pilot.

You would th ink tha t thislack of standardization wouldmake fiying small planes da ngerous -- it doesn't. Beforegetting your pilot's licence youmust go through a period ofintensive training which equipsyou to handle flying safely.

It b e ~ i n s when you go toyour local airport, find the resident flying club. and sign up fortheir flight training course.They'll generally enroll you in aground school (where you canlearn about the theory of flightand the la ws governing flying inCanada), assign you to a flyinginstructor, and start you on yourrst Pilot's Log Book.

This Log Book will contain arecord of any flying you do forthe rest of your life. All pilotshave them, and browsing throughone you can often find thenames of exotic places stampedon the pages as well as (toobrief ) descriptions of interest ing events.

The first few pages will ofcourse contain a record of apilot's initial flight training.Generally you'll r p ~ r - P O t Ilike: takeof fs , s t r a igh tand leve l l i ' l f , s teeptu rns s ta s sp i ns c ir -cu i t s and land ings andirst so lo c i r r u i t Afterwa rds you'll see a lew pagesuevoted to solo practice sessionsculminating finally in a recordof the government administeredPrivate Pilot flight exam. Ofcourse, the number of _entries inthe Log Book. depends on thenumber of times a pilot goesflying, and the number of training entries depends OD the lengthof time he takes to get his

license. Most people takebetween 50 and 70 hours of flying (logging 1 or 2 hours eachweek) to obtain their licences,after which they can fly whenever they want and with whomever they want (the total costis about $2500, but if you'regood you can do it for less).They can handle an aircraftsafely (even during an emergency), know how to navigatefrom the air, how to talk to air

IRON WARRIOR

POWERFLYING AS A HOBBY

Wait a few f l i g b t s be fo re t r g i ng t b i straffic controllers, and are usually passionately in love withairplanes and flying in general.

Mind you, things are not aspre-programmed as they sound.Every student has an interestingstory to tell from his trainingdays. 'vElie involved flying intoa cloud on my lrst so 0 crosscountry, panicking, and divingout of it at 135 knots (definitelynot recommended). Incidentslike that are generally rarethough (and rarer amonglicenced pilots-- KAL p i l o tsexcepted ed. ; in fact, fly ing is one of the safest sportsyou caD possibly try. (There was

never any real danger - - myaltitude was over 7000 feet.)After getting a Pilot'slicence, one usually spends the

first few months taking familyand friends on sightseeingflights, checking out the variousclubs, airports, and airshows inthe imm ia e a, al - - . . . .. . .Dew friends and contactslocal flying club.

When this pales one begin5-to think. about taking a long tripsomewhere. I've been to mo:.tplaces in southern Ontario, aswell as New York and Montre a 1.but many people go as far awayas the Grand Canyon on a rou

1

tine basis {and this never pales' l.The flying clubs do their

utmost to accomodate thesecross- country flights. They'llrent out a plane for a week andcharge onlv for the flight timeused, and cluh parking fees (forplanes) generallv run at less than$5 a night. So if one rents a4-sea tel' pIa ne like the Cessna - n and spilts the cost of thetrip with th r E>f fr ie nds, one cantravel to most places for lessthan the cost of an equivalentbus fare and arrive there inabout one quarter of the time(and see more interesting thingsthan the sides of highways, too) .

What else? Well if you'vegot the money you can alwaysbuy your own plane, and ifyou've got the time and patienceyou could build one from a -k.it(and probably get a plane tha tflies better and costs less thanone available fully assembled);there's always the "Mile HighClub ...but we won't go into it(pun not intended) here (as apilot you'll find out what it's allabout, and you may even get anopportunity to join).

If you're interested in flyingyou can find out anything elseyou want to know at any flyingis one of each a t the WaterlooWellington Airport}. There at'eseveral places which offerintroductory flights for about$20 (vet'y cheap for wha t they'llgive you), and mo


16/16

6 IRON 'W RRIOR

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Iron Warrior: Volume 5, Issue 5