Sky High with Nana
Cover: Early 1980s, Nana in a Cessna 182, with the right passenger door removed. Bundled up and buckled by a safety strap for his photography. Location: Air Sailing Gliderport, Reno, NV. The photograph he cherished most was not of his family, but of a Nimbus III. A slender, white glider hangs suspended against the Sierras, its…
Testing iFly
A few months ago, for the sake of conversation, I mixed up Newton’s 3rd Law with the Impulse-Momentum Theorem. I thought that if I ever went skydiving, which I plan to do when I’m eighteen, the rushing air would “hit” me with an impact, and that impact would push back with an equal force, keeping…
Jet Engine Part 2
Picking up where I left off from Part 1, after finishing building the engine, it was ready for testing. I placed an aluminum sheet underneath where the engine would be seated for heat shielding against the wooden table. I strapped the engine to the table using heavy-duty zip ties to ensure the engine would not…
Driving..I mean, Drawing through Summer
This summer, I had to find a way to relax and enjoy myself beyond what has been a very hectic, yet productive summer. I have retaken a Biology course online to bring my grade up to an A, SAT preparation for next month, swim practice, driving tests, and many enjoyable flying lessons towards a Private…
Jet Engine Part 1
It’s always fascinated me with the idea of propelling objects with a force that isn’t completely visible, yet so powerful. After months of studying and researching propulsion, I started experimenting with home-made turbo-fan engines. I chose to begin building turbofan engines because they are rather simple and teach the basics of gas turbines. In the summer of 2024, I built my prototype turbofan…
Varsity Swim
Upon completing 3 seasons of fortunately swimming with Gainesville high school, I can finally say with much perseverance I made progress around every corner. Whether it’s been through sprint events or distance, I am proud of my recent achievements as a varsity swimmer. The best events I have excelled in the most are my 50…
My Robotics Journey
A highlight of my junior year has been how I am able to express my passion for engineering through after-school clubs such as engineering club and my favorite, most exciting – robotics club. I enjoy robotics club because of its positive environment and work ethic. Unfortunately, I was unable to try-out for the school robotics team my sophomore…
Little Crystalline Creations
As a car enthusiast who also loves aerospace, or just anything and everything that speaks the shared principles of fluid dynamics to aerodynamics, I found a new fun to work with carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is a lightweight intricate weaved cloth constructed of many polymers into a stunning pattern. This material is used as an…
My SpaceX
This one-week rocketry flew by so quickly that I wanted to do it again. Every year, NOVA’s (Northern Virginia Community College) SySTEMic program holds a one week rocketry summer camp for middle school and high school students. I had been looking forward to this camp all summer and it did not disappoint. Even so, we…
Rowing Away the Summer
Have you ever wondered how demanding Ivy League sports such as rowing could be? Well, I did. My brother and I signed up for one of many rowing summer camps the Potomac has to offer. We chose the two week TBC Racing rowing camp. Although this was a tough camp, the final result from our finale…
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Discovering with Raza 