Embry-Riddle Students to Unleash Another Jet-Engine Dragster
High-Performance Vehicles R&D Center Opens for Business
Daytona Beach, FL and Prescott, AZ, February 13, 2012
ERAU jet-engine dragster.
Under the direction of Chris and Elaine Larsen of Larsen Motorsports, students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott campus are nearing completion of another all-new jet dragster to add to the school’s collection of nationally recognized jet-racing exhibition teams.
Meanwhile, student interns at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus are involved in the university’s latest joint venture with Larsen Motorsports, a new High-Performance Vehicles Research & Development Center based at Embry-Riddle’s Research & Technology Park in Daytona Beach.
“Embry-Riddle is proud to be associated with Larsen Motorsports and excited to welcome them to our research park,” said Dr. Christina Frederick-Recascino, Embry-Riddle’s senior executive vice president of academics and research. “Our relationship with them over the years has given our engineering students hands-on experience that extends the value of an Embry-Riddle degree. This new world-class racing facility will take our combined efforts to the next level.”
The new facility, whose grand opening will be held later this month for invited guests, is specifically designed to contribute to all high-performance vehicles, particularly those that are turbine powered. The group has already received interest from motorsports-sanctioning bodies that are requesting help with safety innovations, material testing, and aerodynamic testing.
The research center will host a number of aerodynamic, mechanical, and electrical engineering and training opportunities for technicians of high-performance vehicles. The training for drivers and crew will be conducted in state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories of model-specific, high-performance vehicles used throughout the industry. The Larsen group will leverage relationships in the motorsports industry to bring in renowned professionals and state-of-the-art training aids.
In the final stage of completion is an in-house jet-propulsion laboratory capable of core-level turbine engine engineering and maintenance. Unique modifications to internal components affecting gas path flows will be among the facility’s specialties. Additionally, experimental prototype thrust-augmenting devices will be a primary focus of the lab’s day-to-day operations.
Embry-Riddle student interns are also currently completing a fully functional mobile thrust bed with full data-acquisition capabilities that will be multitasked for use with turbine engine and rocket propulsion projects. Completion is set for the second quarter of 2012.
Miller Welding, another primary race team sponsor of Larsen Motorsports, donated premier equipment from its extensive product line in order to create a state-of-the-art welding lab. The equipment is used to modify and fabricate components, often using exotic materials that can’t be welded by conventional means. “The Miller Welding component was huge to us,” said Chris Larsen. “It completely eliminated us having to outsource certain components that in the past we were unable to repair and fabricate ourselves.”
The Larsen facility includes special rooms with guaranteed security and control for industry partners seeking to keep their projects under wraps.
Also by design, if additional engineering support is needed, Embry-Riddle has made available a wide range of renowned engineering specialists at its campus nearby.
The flourishing, nearly decade-long relationship between the Larsens and the university has already produced successful joint projects with Embry-Riddle’s jet propulsion laboratory, aviation maintenance science department, and numerous engineering departments.
Chris Larsen remarked, “One of the primary goals of this facility is to offer affordable solutions to the aerospace and motorsports industries by leveraging our relationship with the brilliant young minds of the students at Embry-Riddle —volunteer recruits and student interns who will work and learn at the facility daily.”
Located at Daytona Beach International Airport, the Larsen Research Center has convenient access to airlines with multiple flights daily. Several FBOs near the facility offer full-service support to corporate aircraft operators.
“One of our strongest assets is that the Larsen Research Center is an American-owned and American-operated small business,” said Elaine Larsen. “In addition, we are free from time-consuming big-business politics, so decisions between us and our business partners are quick and efficient. On-time or ahead-of-schedule deliveries to our customers is one of the things we pride ourselves on most.”
For more information about the research center and the related student projects at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach and Prescott campuses, visit www.lmsjets.com.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, is a nonprofit, independent institution offering more than 40 baccalaureate, master's and Ph.D. degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., and through the Worldwide Campus with more than 150 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada and the Middle East. The university is a major research center, seeking solutions to real-world problems in partnership with the aerospace industry, other universities and government agencies. For more information, visit http://www.embryriddle.edu, follow us on Twitter (@EmbryRiddle) and facebook.com/EmbryRiddleUniversity, and find expert videos at YouTube.com/EmbryRiddleUniv.
