Report on Prof.R.K. Pant’s visit
On the morning of the ninth of January, students of class XI of M.A.H.S.S. were getting ready for another day at school. This was a very special day. The students had been waiting for this feast because the timetable featured three and a half hours of a guest lecture by the vastly experienced IIT Professor, Prof. R.K. Pant. He was warmly welcomed and introduced by the Director Vyankatesh Prabhudesai, who said he has been privileged student of Prof. Pant and it is because of his motivation, he spent almost 15 years in the field of Aircraft Design. He said Prof. Pant was associated with late Dr. Kalpana Chawla on several technical projects. Currently working as a Professor in IIT Bombay, Prof. Pant is an alumnus of IIT Chennai and also has his PhD from famed Cranfield Institute of Technology, U.K. in Aerospace Engineering.
Prof. Pant divided his presentation into two parts. The first one focused on some basic concepts of Flight Mechanic and Aircraft Aerodynamics. Before heading straight into the topic, Prof. Pant gave a brief history of Aviation and how gradually the dream of flying was achieved by humans. He also talked about the various aircraft design Projects he had worked on during the course of his illustrious career at HAL and IIT Bombay.
In the first power point presentation, Prof. Pant showed some amazing animation videos which clearly explained how an aerofoil generates lift as its angle of attack is increased. Students were particularly impressed the way the airfoil lost lift at high angles of attack due to flow separation. These pictures and lucid explanation by Prof. Pant gave us real insight into aerodynamics, and a fair idea about how the huge plane weighing thousands of tonnes can lift off the ground. Prior to this we were always wondering how a gigantic plane like Boeing 747-400 can get airborne. Prof. Pant also cleared some of our misconceptions.
To give us a good feel of how the plane flies, and to demonstrate factors affecting flying and handling qualities of a plane, Prof. Pant used his model plane (made out of Balsa and composite material) and flew it in the class with different combinations of wings, horizontal / vertical tails (Fins) and also with them in different positions. He also made students fly it and gain hands on experience. In a very short span we learnt a lot of flight mechanics and aerodynamics thanks to his demo models and especially his characteristic style of explanation!
The second part was about the role maths played in the field of aerospace engineering. One of the applications he discussed included calculations of the gross weight and weight fractions of aicraft. Rather than making us solve many problems, Professor Pant focused on making the idea and the concept behind the maths that were being used clear. He also gave us a typical real life example to work with. Knowing that all the concepts we learn in maths every day at school are not abstract concepts but have applications in all kinds of fields gives new meaning to studying the subject. It also makes us realise that doing estimations before the experiments narrows down the chances of errors, and also saves on huge costs involved in making wind tunnel models.
Towards the end, Prof. Pant kept the session open for interaction and question and the entire session was coordinated by the Director, Vyankatesh Prabhudesai.
All the students were disappointed when it was time for Professor Pant to leave. It had been a wonderful experience and he was leaving us with invaluable knowledge. Giving knowledge is not an art, making sure that the receiver understands it, appreciates it and retains it is. Professor Pant did exactly that. He also inspired us to work towards what we believed in and to give our everything in whatever we attempted and for that we would be forever be grateful to him and to Vyankatesh Prabhudesai sir for giving us this valuable experience.
Prepared By – Vyankatesh Prabhudesai(Director,M.A.H.S.S) & Nivedan Amarnani, Student of STD XI