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Nova Systems has launched a new course for Queensland engineering students that provides airborne demonstrations of flight mechanics and aircraft stability and control.
The Flight Lab course targets undergraduate and post-graduate personnel involved or interested in the aviation environment.
“The purpose of the Flight Lab is to provide students with an introduction into the practical techniques used by flight testers to determine the longitudinal stability and handling qualities of an aircraft,” Nova Systems flight test engineer Grant Thaler said.
“We create a real-life scenario for students involving a pre-briefing, airborne data collection and complete a post-flight exercise so they can better understand a vital component of their training as aerospace engineers.”
The course is overseen by flight test engineers from Nova Systems, which among other things, offer insights into the impacts of varied aircraft design and requirements for longitudinal and manoeuvre stability.
“From what we understand, the Flight Lab is the major draw card that makes a student choose to do the Aerospace major — and makes them more employable once their studies are completed,” Thaler added.
“It’s a real privilege to come back as an instructor and a tutor to pass on the knowledge I’ve gained in my career over the last 15 years onto the next generation.”
Nova Systems is looking to expand the program to a broader set of academic organisations.
“Contributing to the academic space that we operate in is incredibly valuable to us and helps to foster the future defence industry workforce,” Nova Systems CEO Jim McDowell said.
“The success of this course has led to Nova Systems now planning to expand its teaching into further universities, and we are always on the lookout for outstanding students that may want to join our own graduate program.”
It comes after Nova last month pledged to spend an initial $2 million to establish a local “centre of excellence”.
The project will act as a central hub to support research, digital technologies, training and ideas for the local workforce.
The plan was unveiled by McDowell at the 2022 SETE Conference in Canberra and aims to facilitate collaboration between defence, industry and academia to develop an integrated joint force test and evaluation and capability assurance.
