The Academic Program activities addressed land, air and water transportation systems. The activities included hands-on components and field trips. The following areas were covered:
Highways Road Construction
The students were also introduced to highway and bridge construction with highlights of students performing the Standard Proctor Test which is used to control the strength of road bases and measuring elevation using the engineer s level. They were shown the typical cross-section of road with typical components of Sub-grade, sub-base, base and the riding surface.
The Standard Proctor Test
This is a standard procedure for determining the compressive strength of the foundation (base) of highways. The students conducted the lab on soils collected and they plotted the Dry Density of the soil versus the Moisture Content. This graph is used to determine the Optimum Dry Density and Optimum Moisture Content. That is, it gives the range of the moisture in the soil at which the soil must be compacted to achieve optimum strength in the road.
Surveying
The students used the Engineer s Level and Level Rod to measure elevations. Elevations are important in highway construction. A road pavement must be built at predesigned elevation (height) above the mean sea level.
Bridges
The students used the West Point Bridge software to simulate the building of a bridge over a river. The students built and tested the bridge. When some truss members failed during the load testing, they were able to go back to the drawing board and strengthen those members that failed.
A truss bridge model complete with a roadbed was also purchased and used.
Air Transportation
They were also exposed to the Flight Simulator where the students learnt to fly a plane and to Air Traffic Control activities. The areas covered include:
- Navigation
- Pilotage & Dead Reckoning Skills
- National Airspace System Infrastructure
- Terminal Services
- TRACON/ Arrival & Departure
- Enroute/Center
- Chart/Map reading skills
- Latitude/Longitude Coordinate System
- Flight planning skills
- Time, distance, fuel to destination
- Communication and Phraseology
- Standard Phraseology and Phonetic Alphabet
- Basic communication fundamentals
- Aircraft Separation Minimums
- Spacing requirements and calculation
- Aviation History
- Wright Brother s Legacy at Kitty Hawk, NC
- Basic Flight Aerodynamics/ Physics
- Lift, Drag, Weight & Thrust
Field Trips
We made field trips to Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum, Baltimore, Air Mobility Museum, Dover Air Force Base, BWI Airport, Maryland Port Authority, Cape May Ferry and Ocean City Coastguard Field Station.
Speakers
At BWI, Mr. Kelvin Ampofo, Airport Management Officer, addressed the students on BWI management, operations and security issues. During the visit to the Maryland Port Authority, Mr. Ray Johnston, High School Coordinator for Anne Arundel Community College, addressed the students on the Transportation, Logistics and Security program. Mr. James MacIntosh, a retired Navy Officer, addressed the students on NAVY DAY in which the students were informed on the US Navy and career opportunities within the Navy.
