Atec, Inc. | Aerospace Engineering Company

General Ben Robinson’s Journey and Focus on STEM Education

cbennitt — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:19:12 +0000

General Ben Robinson’s Journey from College Dropout to Air Force Pilot. His story and realization along the way that STEM education is needed to develop our future workforce. Learn how the Aerospace Education and Industry Partnership (AEIP) is making this possible. Click here to read the article. This article was provided to me by the Innovation Intake. To find out more information about STEM education visit Innovate+Educate. Use the STEM Directory to find an organization near you.

CFD – The heart of aero systems engineering analysis

cbennitt — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 22:00:04 +0000

When engine test cells first came to the scene, air flow prediction was a guessing game. Sometimes designers made good guesses; sometimes they made bad guesses. Then Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), shedding some much needed light on the critical aero systems engineering analysis that always takes place when engineers design propeller and turbine engine test cells. Background During the early years of propeller and turbine engine test cell design, there was a great deal of iterative trial and error regarding...

Turbine Engine Test Cell

cbennitt — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:13:30 +0000

The article The Small Turbine Engine Test Cell, written by Tim Kern, featured the test cells at the Rolls Royce Indianapolis facility. Atec was pleased to see our “green,” Phoenix Modular Test Facilities displayed in the January 2012 edition of the Aircraft Maintenance Technology Magazine and on the AviationPros website.

Delta and Atlas Launches from 2011

cbennitt — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:22:43 +0000

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne’s Video of the 2011 Delta and Atlas Launches!

Engine Test Cell Challenges 2012 and Beyond

cbennitt — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:06:52 +0000

Engine Test Cells have been around for the aviation industry since the dawn of the industry. The Wright Brothers performed extensive testing on their small piston engine to verify performance with their belt driven propeller system. As mechanics, they understood not only that a motor is only as good as the parts and the people who put those parts together, but that a motor must be tested as a working system prior to installation. Why is that, you ask? Because...

Production and Overhaul Test Cells outnumber R&D facilities by a large margin

cbennitt — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:06:13 +0000

In the old days, your test cell had an engine mount, a few gauges, a few hoses and cables, a start system, a fuel system and a pad of paper, and you were ready to fire up. However, since the inception of powered flight, engine power and complexity have increased at an exponential rate, especially with the advent of the jet engine in the years after WWII, and then again with the introduction of digital controls. Enter the economy. The...

MROs must be both Technically and Business Savvy

cbennitt — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:05:56 +0000

Test Cells still have the same mission as they did with the Wright Brothers: verifying engine performance prior to flight. How that mission gets accomplished however is very different today. The hand-loaded engine mount and cables/hoses have been replaced by automated coupling systems that join fuel and electrical connections. The engine adapter connections are intertwined with the Test Cell Control system through PLCs to maximize safety. The open area around the engine test system has been surrounded by complex acoustic...

2011 Rocket Launches

cbennitt — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:06:00 +0000

January 20, 2011 – Vandenberg Air Force Base – NROL 49 Atec’s 2011 launch schedule began with the maiden voyage of a Delta 4-Heavy rocket from California, the largest booster ever flown from the West Coast. The RL-10 engine upper stage deployed a crucial and clandestine replacement satellite into a polar orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office’s sophisticated constellation. The Latin words “melior diabolus quem scies” are inscribed on the mission patch. This roughly translates to mean “the devil you...

Record Year for Energy Services

cbennitt — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:02:37 +0000

2011 was a record year for our Energy Services group. For that, our thanks go out to our loyal clients. This past year demand in the field rose, and Atec jumped to the challenge by expediting orders so our customers could better serve their clients. Our continued team work with our customers in resolving obsolescence issues kept the orders flowing. Our hard work paid off, leading Atec to design and manufacture multiple cables for a new product released worldwide by...

2011 Recap in the Community

uvierna — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:11:22 +0000

In June 2011, Atec sponsored a clothing drive for Second Mile Mission Center, a charity local to the Stafford/Sugar Land area. More than 40 Atec employees contributed over 300 items of clothing, many of them items for children, for donation to the area’s less fortunate to make the drive a success. The clothing drive, coordinated by Atec HR Manager Meghan Major, was a close to home, close to the heart effort that is sure to become an annual tradition. Atec’s Chairman...