2B2 HOSTS RWDC AWARDS FOR NHS STATE CHAMPS
By Charlotte Vincent

March 19, 2010 at Plum Island Airport had an unmistakable air of Déjà Vu about it.

The weather was not unlike March 18, 2009 though perhaps a little milder. There was bright sunshine, a light breeze, temperatures in the 60s, and not a cloud in the sky.

For a few hours on this beautiful day in March, Plum Island Aerodrome (PIA) suspended work at the 2B2 Hangar and Working Museum. Airport volunteers transformed the hangar into an auditorium setting. Then, as in 2009, PIA opened its hangar doors to host the state award ceremony for the Real World Design Challenge (RWDC).


There were definitely familiar faces among those who made their way into the hangar. Some were on the roster of speakers and presenters. Some took their places in the student championship row. Others found seats among the 50+ person audience. They were the faces of those returning to celebrate an encore performance. For the second consecutive year, Newburyport High School (NHS) fielded the winning team for the state RWDC challenge.

NHS’s 2010 Winning Team
This year it was Team Blackbird who captured the RWDC championship title for NHS and for Massachusetts!

Meet the Blackbirds: Ryan Campbell, Dan Colby, Belle Douglass, Connor Gravelle, and Molly Picillo.


Once again, NHS Technology Instructor, Sarah Leadbeater, took on the role of faculty coach for NHS’s RWDC team.

With four sophomores and one junior, Team Blackbird is a solid peer level team. It’s a slightly smaller and younger team than last year’s Clipper Tech Team. However, the Blackbirds had their own advantage.

With Sarah Leadbeater’s staying on as team coach, and with Belle and Molly making the team cut both years, Team Blackbird had the advantage of continuity of knowledge and experience with the RWDC process and requirements. This continuity was a definite confidence builder and calming agent as Team Blackbird went to work on this year’s RWDC State Challenge.

RWDC State Challenge
As in the first annual RWDC, the 2010 RWDC once again focused on the real world problem of fuel efficiency in the aviation industry. The target for this year’s design makeover was the tail fin of a Learjet – whereas last year’s focused on the wing of a larger commercial aircraft.

The 2010 state challenge was to design and build a tail fin which significantly improves the fuel efficiency of the Learjet without drastically degrading its performance capabilities. Parametric Technologies Corporation (PTC) of Newton, MA once again supplied the real world Computer Aided Design (CAD) engineering and simulation software for design development and testing.

Team Blackbird took on the challenge for NHS. Using the CAD technology, the team designed and built a 3-D computer simulated model of a new tail fin for the Learjet. They tested their design in a simulated airflow environment using the PTC software. They collected and analyzed test results data on fuel efficiency and performance.
The team cycled through this design, testing, and analysis process repeatedly. Each time they refined their design to produce a better, more fuel-efficient model.

In the end, Team Blackbird submitted their best design to the RWDC panel of judges. Team Blackbird’s design proved to be “the best of the best” for Massachusetts!

Award Ceremony at 2B2
It was Team Blackbird who drew people to our 2B2 hangar on this fine day in March.
People from various fields came to celebrate the NHS team and their state championship!

Government Aviation Agencies (MassDOT Aeronautics, FAA New England Region)

Christopher Willenborg, Administrator of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division (MassDOT) emceed the event as he had last year. He also introduced the members of Team Blackbird and presented certificates of recognition to each of the students from the U.S. Departments of Energy and Transportation.

The New England Region Deputy Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Ann Mollica, added her congratulations to the team. “Part of the FAA’s role is to inspire students to excel in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). But students inspire us on a day like today.” She went on to encourage the students to continue their studies and to “consider a career in aviation. “We need a work force that’s inspired by STEM to make aviation safer, more fuel efficient, and less costly. The future of aviation is in your hands. You’re the “NextGen”.

Private Enterprise and Entrepreneurs - Terrafugia

This passion for creativity and innovation within the field of aviation came through loud and clear when Anna Mracek Dietrich, COO and Co-Founder of Terrafugia stepped up to the podium with her congratulations.

“In 2005-2006, we set out to solve four of the biggest problems private pilots face: weather sensitivity, high cost, higher than expected door to door travel time, and inability to drive once you reach your flight destination… Two weeks ago we celebrated the first anniversary of our first flight of “Transition” (the “flying car”)”. The “flying car” was on display at 2B2 during the day – thanks to the efforts of Steve Rawding from MassDOT. (Read all about this in Alex’s latest blog posting).

Anna clearly lives the four pieces of advice she passed on to Team Blackbird: “(1) Always be part of a really good team, like Blackbird. It can accomplish much more than an individual. (2) Enjoy the process … the challenge, the victory, and the company. (3) Remember -there are carrots not just sticks in life. (4) Never listen to people who say “It’s impossible”.

Having private enterprises and entrepreneurs, like Terrafugia, participating in the award ceremony was a welcomed addition to this year’s Massachusetts RWDC Partnership Ceremony. We hope it will become an annual tradition.

Public Education (Newburyport School System, NHS)

Diedre Farrell, Interim Superintendent of Schools for Newburyport, was on hand to receive the RWDC School Trophy from the Departments of Energy and Transportation. She also kicked off the accolades from the Newburyport Public School System for Team Blackbird. “Incredible… Just incredible… The Newburyport Public Schools and School Committee could not be more proud … well, than maybe your parents. You’ve risen to the challenge. Congratulations!”


Michael Parent, Principal of Newburyport High School, stood in for Representative Michael Costello in presenting the students with official certificates of recognition from the Commonwealth of MA. He approached the podium with great pride: “Another great team; another great accomplishment; another great example of a smart partnership between NHS and the corporation, PTC.”

Steve Smith, NHS Director of Technology, reinforced Parent’s acknowledgement of the PTC partnership and working relationship. “We have a 9 year relationship with PTC. We appreciate PTC’s support over these years from engineering software, to equipping computer labs, to monetary donations. It’s difficult to make partnerships work between schools and business. They are two different worlds. It’s different with PTC because PTC has a whole division of services devoted to working with schools.”

After his congratulatory remarks to Team Blackbird, Steve also relayed a message from Sarah Leadbeater who could not attend the event due to illness. “I’m very excited and proud of this year’s team. Team Blackbird has been really good at working together as a team. They’ve been really great at supporting each other.”

Non-Profit Organizations (Historic New England, PIA)

This year, Historic New England (HNE) added their voice to the litany of congratulations and accolades for the winning team from NHS. Bethany Groff, Manager of Spencer-Pierce Little Farm of HNE, congratulated NHS and the team on behalf of HNE. She then spoke on behalf of herself as a parent. She acknowledged the parents in the audience and led the applause with a “Good Job to the parents in the room”. She then spoke to Team Blackbird as the mother of an 11 year old boy. “My son’s all excited about what you’ve done here. Because of you, he’s excited about studying math and engineering. I’m thankful to you for being an inspiration to 11 year old boys.”

Our own, Alex Hasapis, was the last one to make his way to the podium. As Public Information Officer, he added Plum Island Aerodrome’s congratulations and best wishes to NHS and Team Blackbird.

Alex also took to the floor to announce the launch of the PIA Web Site and to thank NHS for their help in its creation. He particularly acknowledged Sarah Leadbeater, NHS’s Technology Instructor, both for providing us with preliminary web design sketches from her Web Design students and for providing her own technical assistance in building and launching the PIA web site.

“This is a perfect example of working with the community in a win-win situation. It benefited the students by giving them a real world client for web design. It benefited the airport by giving us a Web Site!”

Yours truly joined Alex at the podium to present a plaque to Sarah and her NHS students with a “world of thanks … for their help in the creation of the web site for Plum Island Aerodrome.” Steve Smith accepted the plaque on behalf of Sarah.

Diorama on Display at Burgess Historical Museum

When the formal ceremony closed, all were invited to enjoy lunch, take a look inside Terrafugia’s Transition “Flying Car”, and tour 2B2’s Burgess Historical Museum.

Ted Russell, 2B2’s resident historian and volunteer museum curator, was once again on hand to give tours of the Burgess Historical Museum. This year’s tour highlight was the new Diorama exhibit built by Bruce Carter with support from Ted. The Diorama is a three dimensional model of the original site of the Burgess/Herring Aerodrome and Hangar for their 1910 flights at Plum Island.

The Diorama will be permanently installed in time for the first of a series of celebrations to be held at 2B2 throughout this centennial year. The first centennial anniversary gathering is scheduled for April 17, 2010. It will begin at 10:00 am with a commemorative fly-over over the site of the 1910 Burgess Aerodrome on Plum Island. It will be followed immediately by a Classic/General Aviation aircraft fly-in.

Back to March 19
Yes, March 19 was a great flying day. On this day in 2010, there were plenty of planes taking off and landing at the 2B2 airstrip. More thunderous, though, was the applause coming from inside the 2B2 hangar.

NHS’s Team Blackbird was flying high from its state championship win! They were also about to take off for the RWDC Nationals in Washington, D.C.

More on the RWDC Nationals and Team Blackbird in upcoming blog entries …