Experience · StandardAero Helicopters
Mechanical Engineering Co-op
At StandardAero Helicopters, I worked on the design and inspection of rotorcraft components, and on product development for the StableLight Autopilot System.
- Dates
- May 2023 – Dec 2023
- Duration
- 8 months
- Location
- Langley, BC
- Saved per rebuild
- ~$44k
About this reflection
My work at StandardAero Helicopters is covered by a non-disclosure agreement, so this page has no designs, drawings or data. It describes the work at a high level and what I took away from it.
Tail boom frame fitting
My most impactful project was designing a rotorcraft tail boom frame fitting, which cut the cost of a single tail boom rebuild by about $44,000. The original design was dated and unavailable to us, so I used a 3D scanner to rebuild the model, then improved the design to increase our confidence in the boom rebuilds.
I also designed a forming die for variable-profile sheet metal stringers and built an automatically populated SolidWorks inspection template that saves over 100 work hours a year. Separately, I designed an alternative StableLight Autopilot configuration for helicopters with conflicting earlier modifications.
Team & reflection
This was the first time I had strong engineering mentorship. I really valued the expertise I gained from the engineering team, and I appreciated the ownership I was given over my projects, even as a new engineer.