Life @ EA

Edinburgh Academy pupil Angus Gardiner was selected to take part in the RAF Humanitarian Engineering Course, a 4-day virtual event delivered by the Smallpeice Trust.

We’ve heard that the RAF and Engineering are your passions. What do you like about them?

I like working out how things function, seeing how they operate in detail and the mechanics of what causes wheels to move. My grandpa has a farm and I’ve always had an interest in the machines and equipment there – and I get to play with them!

Tell us about the event

It was a large Zoom call with breakout rooms and we were put into groups. We all met a Wing Commander that was part of the Engineering Department of the RAF, and then we were placed in separate areas to do the challenges.

The course took place over four days. There was a main brief and then we would go into breakout rooms and get an overview of the project and its objectives, and then we would complete the tasks. We worked on three projects.

What were the objectives of the course?

The main scenario was to provide humanitarian help to an island that suffered an earthquake. We were placed into situations where we could provide aid and had to make something that would help.

On the fictional island there wasn’t clean water, so we created a filtration device. We were sent kits to work with but the parts are easy to find. Another task was to create a capacitor powered buggy, an electric vehicle powered by a super-capacitor that you can charge up. It is basically a rechargeable, short-term battery and we also included light circuits. The third task was to create a solar panel and wind turbine.

How did you find out about the event?

Miss Hennessey passed it on from Mr Welsh (the Rector) and asked if I would like to participate.

What did you learn?

The main thing that I learned was that the RAF does more than just fly fighter jets. They actually offer a lot of help to areas in need throughout the world. I really like the combination of Engineering and how it fits into the RAF.

What was your favourite part of the course?

My favourite part was the Q&A with the Wing Commander. We learned what she does and how she got into the RAF. We also learned that she helped develop the F-35 flight helmets. It was really fun.

What subjects helped you prepare for the course?

Definitely Physics and Design and Technology – the STEM subjects.

This is obviously your preferred area of study. Where do you see it taking you?

I would like to study Marine Engineering or run a farm, but I have quite a keen interest in boats. I do high-speed electric boat races in my spare time which is really fun!