COLLEGE STATION, TX — Aggies are transforming a 1950's carnival rocket car... into an advanced flight simulator! All with a little help from virtual reality, of course.
Texas A&M aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering departments teamed up to re-purpose the rocket car, giving Aggies a chance to jump in the cockpit and soar over the Aggieland campus.
Team member Hannah Leeman hopes the project will help students blast off into a career in the STEM field.
"We wanted to give people a chance both to learn how to drive or fly a plane, get to see A&M but also, we added in simulations for all the control surfaces on the vehicle" shared Leeman, team member of the retro rocket project. "As an aerospace engineer, this something that was important to us... as the student is driving its an open cockpit, so they can look around and they can see aileron moving they can see the rudder behind them."
The rocket car was donated to the team by Hullabaloo Diner owner, Eric Schulte. Upon completion, it will travel with Spark! Pk-12, the school's STEM outreach group.