Twin Hosts College Intern
Twin Commander Aircraft LLC hosted a college intern this past summer who is headed for a career in aerospace engineering. Along with interning at Twin Commander headquarters in Creedmoor, North Carolina, Christopher Welsh, a senior aerospace engineering student at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia, spent the summer preparing for his Private pilot check ride, which he passed a week after completing his internship.
Welsh worked in Twin Commander’s engineering department on a number of projects. He rewrote and updated “finishing specs” on about 95 percent of all of Twin’s drawings that detail the finish type to apply to parts. He also reviewed hundreds of Nonconforming Material Reports (NMRs), wrote Engineering Change Orders (EOs) where applicable, and created a searchable file that allows the company to quickly find out whether or not an NMR issue has come up before and, if so, how it was handled.
Welsh also reviewed Twin Commander’s archive of Engineering Orders and Technical Requisitions in order to finalize drawing changes made by the engineering staff. During his internship, he gained an interest in cabin pressurization and control systems and researched the many systems utilized on pressurized Commanders, wrapping it up with a detailed presentation and report to Twin Commander staff on what he learned.
Welsh said he “grew up flying. I’ve been around airplanes pretty much my whole life.” His father earned his Private certificate while in college, and son Chris has followed that example. Among his first passengers were his sister and her boyfriend, whom he flew to the family farm.
Welsh spent many hours riding in—and polishing—the family’s pristine Beech 18 that his father recently sold to Red Bull. The airplane was ferried across the Atlantic to become part of an aviation museum in Prague in the Czech Republic. The Twin Beech has since been replaced by a U-21, an unpressurized King Air derivative designed for military service.
Welsh is an RC (remote control) enthusiast, and while interning at Twin he built a static model of the Blue Goose, the original Aero Commander now undergoing restoration in Oklahoma City.
He is back in school now, focusing on his studies. “All I can think about now is classes,” he said. “That, and the Student Design, Build, Fly contest.” - the annual national competition hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. that challenges university engineering students to design, fabricate, and demonstrate the flight capabilities of an unmanned, electric-powered, radio-controlled aircraft. This year’s task is to design and test a UAV backpack. Welsh is responsible for designing the tail section for Virginia Tech’s entry.
“It was great to have Chris with us this summer,” says Twin Commander Aircraft president Matt Isley. “He was instrumental in our efforts to wrap up some loose ends with our engineering documentation and update some of our process specs to bring them in-line with more modern industry practices. This will simplify life for our vendors and result in a higher-quality product from the factory.” He goes on to say, “Chris took to every task with great enthusiasm. He didn’t hesitate to roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty with some very complex material. We wish him the greatest success in his studies and what promises to be a bright future in the aerospace field.”
Welsh worked in Twin Commander’s engineering department on a number of projects. He rewrote and updated “finishing specs” on about 95 percent of all of Twin’s drawings that detail the finish type to apply to parts. He also reviewed hundreds of Nonconforming Material Reports (NMRs), wrote Engineering Change Orders (EOs) where applicable, and created a searchable file that allows the company to quickly find out whether or not an NMR issue has come up before and, if so, how it was handled.
Welsh also reviewed Twin Commander’s archive of Engineering Orders and Technical Requisitions in order to finalize drawing changes made by the engineering staff. During his internship, he gained an interest in cabin pressurization and control systems and researched the many systems utilized on pressurized Commanders, wrapping it up with a detailed presentation and report to Twin Commander staff on what he learned.
Welsh said he “grew up flying. I’ve been around airplanes pretty much my whole life.” His father earned his Private certificate while in college, and son Chris has followed that example. Among his first passengers were his sister and her boyfriend, whom he flew to the family farm.
Welsh spent many hours riding in—and polishing—the family’s pristine Beech 18 that his father recently sold to Red Bull. The airplane was ferried across the Atlantic to become part of an aviation museum in Prague in the Czech Republic. The Twin Beech has since been replaced by a U-21, an unpressurized King Air derivative designed for military service.
Welsh is an RC (remote control) enthusiast, and while interning at Twin he built a static model of the Blue Goose, the original Aero Commander now undergoing restoration in Oklahoma City.
He is back in school now, focusing on his studies. “All I can think about now is classes,” he said. “That, and the Student Design, Build, Fly contest.” - the annual national competition hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. that challenges university engineering students to design, fabricate, and demonstrate the flight capabilities of an unmanned, electric-powered, radio-controlled aircraft. This year’s task is to design and test a UAV backpack. Welsh is responsible for designing the tail section for Virginia Tech’s entry.
“It was great to have Chris with us this summer,” says Twin Commander Aircraft president Matt Isley. “He was instrumental in our efforts to wrap up some loose ends with our engineering documentation and update some of our process specs to bring them in-line with more modern industry practices. This will simplify life for our vendors and result in a higher-quality product from the factory.” He goes on to say, “Chris took to every task with great enthusiasm. He didn’t hesitate to roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty with some very complex material. We wish him the greatest success in his studies and what promises to be a bright future in the aerospace field.”
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