Author: Mathew Thomas

HELMOT XX

HELMOT XX 2024

HELMOT XX: Helicopter Military Operations Technology Meeting

Online Registration Now Open

Preliminary Agenda and Exhibit Information also Available

The VFS Southeast Region and the Hampton Roads Chapter will sponsor the biennial conference on Helicopter Military Operations Technology, now in its 40th year, on December 4-5, 2024.

The conference will consist of 1.5 days of unclassified, unrestricted presentations held at the Newport News Marriott at City Center, Newport News, VA. HELMOT XX will combine interest in crewed and uncrewed vertical lift / rotorcraft research and development enabling increased warfighter capability. 

A preliminary agenda is now available for download. Session topics include:

  • Autonomy Updates
  • Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA)
  • Human-Machine Interface

Registration: Register online or download a PDF copy.

 

VFS Member
before 11/1/2024

VFS Member
after 11/1/2024

Non-Member
before 11/1/2024

Non-Member
after 11/1/2024
Regular Attendee

$380

$480

$495

$595

Student:

Non-members must join first

$125

$150

N/A

N/A

Education Outreach 2024

On 9 September, James Stephenson taught about weather and how it affects sound propagation at a local elementary school. Discussion was focused on how we measure weather during experiments, and how it can change the noise we hear around us, like how far away we can hear local base’s ordinance disposal or helicopters.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2024 Scholarship Announcement

The Robert Powell Scholarship

The Robert Powell Scholarship was established to honor the long-time treasurer of the Hampton Roads Chapter whose stewardship of the chapter’s financial assets originally enabled the chapter’s STEM outreach program, including its scholarship fund. The 2024 Robert Powell scholarship has been awarded to Reagan Labert, the daughter of Carrie and Matthew Labert. Reagan attends a Virginia Beach Public School and is an exemplary scholar and leader. She has earned an excellent GPA while conducting research and competing in sports. Her documented perseverance has earned Reagan the Robert Powell Scholarship for 202. Reagan plans to pursue a degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry.

 

The Edward ‘Ed’ Austin Scholarship

This Edward ‘Ed’ Austin Scholarship was established to honor Ed’s many years as a chapter board member in various positions from treasurer to education director. In his retirement, Ed continued to support the chapter through staffing multiple events, encouraged the public outreach of our chapter by maintaining our website, and was a huge and continued proponent of our STEM outreach program including the scholarship program. The 2024 Edward ‘Ed’ Austin scholarship has been awarded to Paul Morales, the son of Stephanie and Louis Morales. Paul attends a Portsmouth Public School and is a scholar pursuing a degree in Biology with the hopes of becoming a doctor.

 

VFS HRC Chapter Luncheon Jan. 31

The Hampton Roads Chapter will host the next luncheon on January 31 at 11:30am.

David Friedmann will discuss “Challenges and Advancements in Rotorcraft Electrification”  on January 31st at Yorktown County Grill& Smokehouse at 11:30am.

Please RSVP by January 30

Luncheon Flyer_Jan 31st_David Friedmann_Final_v1

VFS-HRC Scholarship Application

VFS-HRC High School Scholarship

Purpose:
The Hampton Roads Chapter (HRC) of the Vertical Flight Society International (VFS) sponsors an annual scholarship to recognize and assist high school seniors who wish to pursue a college education leading to a career in STEM related fields such as engineering, physics, mathematics, or computer science.

Eligibility:
High school seniors within the Hampton Roads Chapter Area (entire state of Virginia except Washington, D.C. metro area) are encouraged to apply. This includes, but is not limited to:
Chesapeake, Gloucester, Hampton, Isle of Wright, James City County, Matthews, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Poquoson, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, York County. Private and homeschool seniors are also encouraged to apply.

Award:
Three scholarships, $1,000 each, will be awarded to qualified recipient(s).

Deadline:

Applications must be postmarked by March 1. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Mail Applications to:

VFS HRC

P.O. Box 22252

Newport News, VA 23609

The full scholarship application PDF is available at the below link.

VFS-Scholarship-Application

VFS Education Outreach 2023-10-03

On 3Oct23, Dr. Stephenson visited Tabb Elementary School to conduct a hands-on laboratory demonstrating how vibrations produce sound. Using a slinky he demonstrated transverse (side to side) and longitudinal waves (along the spring). He talked about differences in frequency, and how large items tend to have lower pitch than smaller items. He demonstrated this concept with tuning forks, and showed how we can see the sound being produced by watching the tips of the tuning fork vibrate back and forth.
 
Students then got to break into small groups and investigate the production of sound and vibration at various stations around the room. They got to spin Sound Tubes, test tuning forks, bang on Boomwhackers, and look at patterns that appear on a Chladni plate vibrated at different frequencies. The 20-minute lesson for each class addresses Virginia SOL 1.2.

 

VFS Scholarship Announcement

Summary

VFS-HRC has selected three phenomenal high school seniors for the Chapter Scholarship awards. Taylor Mowery, Alice Fang, and Kyle Ray were each chosen for their exemplary leadership, scholarship, and community service experiences. They are excellent representatives of the next generation of STEM scholars, and the VFS-HRC Chapter looks forward to tracking their future successes.

The Robert Powell Scholarship 

The Robert Powell Scholarship was established to honor the long-time treasurer of the Hampton Roads Chapter whose stewardship of the chapter’s financial assets originally enabled the chapter’s STEM outreach program, including its scholarship fund. The 2023 Robert Powell scholarship has been awarded to Taylor Mowery, the daughter of Melissa and Bryan Mowery. Taylor attends a Hampton Public School and is an exemplary scholar and leader. She has earned an excellent GPA while also continuing to volunteer and compete in multiple sports. Her documented perseverance has earned Taylor the Robert Powell Scholarship for 2023. Taylor plans to pursue a degree in Environmental Science.  

 

The Edward ‘Ed’ Austin Scholarship 

This Edward ‘Ed’ Austin Scholarship was established to honor Ed’s many years as a chapter board member in various positions from treasurer to education director. In his retirement, Ed continued to support the chapter through staffing multiple events, encouraged the public outreach of our chapter by maintaining our website, and was a huge and continued proponent of our STEM outreach program including the scholarship program. The 2023 Edward ‘Ed’ Austin scholarship has been awarded to Alice Fang, the daughter of Ming Fang and Le Zhang. Alice attends a York County Public School and is an exemplary scholar who’s achieved a truly impressive amount. Alice has multiple State and National awards for math, science, and music related fields. Alice intends to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering, where her impressive work ethic will pay off in spades. 

 The Christopher Gavora Scholarship 

The Christopher Gavora Scholarship was established to honor the son of COL William Gavora, former Commander of the Aviation Applied Technology Directorate.  Chris was killed in a tragic high school baseball practice accident shortly after his family relocated from Hampton Roads to Texas.  The 2023 Christopher Gavora Scholarship has been awarded to Kyle Ray, a student in the York County Public School system.  Kyle, the son of Renee and Brian Ray, is a proven scholar and school leader. Kyle has both state and national awards for science, has exemplary grades and scored well on the SAT. Kyle plans to pursue a degree in Aerospace Engineering. 

VFS Luncheon May 24, 2023

VFS Luncheon 11:30am May 24, 2023 at the Ft. Eustis Club

Mr. Tony Rich, from Honeywell Aerospace ,plans to provide an overview of the Honeywell Aerospace portfolio, with a focus on the Engine and
Power System (E&PS) portion of the technology sets. The discussion will include an overview of the Honeywell primary propulsion engines, auxiliary
power units, and a few examples of future ongoing endeavors will be provided (T55-714C upgrade and hybrid electric / turbogenerator technologies).

Free lunch for all active VFS members!

VFS_Luncheon_Flyer_Honeywell.pdf_safe

February 2023 Chapter Luncheon

T408 on NCH-47D Demonstration Overview

11:30 AM on February 21, 2023 at
“County Grill & Smokehouse” in Yorktown

Mr. Kenneth Durbin, US Army DEVCOM AvMC Engines S&T SME , will give a presentation entitled, “T408 on NCH-47D Demonstration Overview.”
The Army, Boeing, and General Electric Aviation partnered to integrate and flight test two T408–GE–400/A1 turboshaft engines on a specially modified NCH–47D aircraft. This effort demonstrated the integration benefits and challenges associated with retrofitting a legacy airframe with new advanced technology, larger form factor, counter-rotating engines.

Free lunch for all active VFS members!

Please RSVP before February 17, 2023 using the following link: https://tinyurl.com/vfslunch23

Luncheon Flyer- T408- 02212023-Final

2022 Engineer of the Year Nominations

Hampton Roads Chapter of the VFS Engineer of the Year 2022

The Hampton Roads Chapter of the Vertical Flight Society (HRC of the VFS) is looking to recognize Hampton Roads Area individuals for their contributions to the rotary-wing engineering profession, significant technical accomplishments, and community involvement. As such, the HRC of the VFS is soliciting nominations for the Engineer of the Year (EOY) award. The HRC of the VFS offers two EOY awards:

· The John White Award – for recognition of the nominee’s career

· The Bob Huston Award – for recognition in the early phase of the nominee’s career

Applications must be received by July 15th, 2022. More details on qualifications and nomination instructions can be found here.

EOY.2022.editable