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>> So growing up here in
(inaudible) Valley there's a lot

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of aerospace and
flight research.

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We would have sonic booms
all the time; get all kinds

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of cool fighter jets
flying overhead.

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The B2 Bomber would you
know be flying over.

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>> To line him up
for Edward's runway.

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>> One of the most unique things
though was whenever the Space

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Shuttle would land here

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and it had this trademark
double-sonic boom

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and that's something
that I will never forget.

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>> Two sonic booms signaling its
arrival at the California coast.

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>> And just the thought that
wow, the Space Shuttle came

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from space and its landing
right here in our own backyard.

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And so that's a memory

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that I will never forget is how
cool it is being in this area

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with all of the flight
research going on,

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the Space Shuttle landing here,
and I'm excited for the future

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because this is a
really unique spot.

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So that this would be
flutter, that would be flutter,

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and then...because it has
different tabs so that...

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So I went to Cal Poly in San
Luis Obispo and I graduated

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with a double major in Physics
and Aerospace Engineering

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and I also got my master's
in Aerospace Engineering.

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So growing up, education
was extremely important

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in my family.

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It was almost like not a
question about not doing well;

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it was very much expected that
I was supposed to do well.

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My parents, I think they
just did a great job

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where I didn't feel pressured.

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I felt more internally

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that I really had high
expectations for myself.

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(Background Conversation)
I'm Alex Chin;

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I'm an Aerospace Engineer
at NASA Armstrong.

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I worked in the Aerostructures
Group

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at NASA Armstrong
Flight Research Center

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and I do research instruction
dynamics which means

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that we study the phenomena
of the forces acting

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on a structure during motion.

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One of the biggest pushes that
NASA Aeronautics is working

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on right now is in
green aviation.

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So in green aviation we're
trying to look at ok,

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how could we make
flight more efficient?

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One of the best ways is well
why don't we just make the

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aircraft lighter.

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But by making it
lighter, we're looking

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at the wings becoming you
know longer, more flexible,

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and yes we get better
efficiencies,

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but then we get all these
structural dynamic consequences.

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So what we're working on
right here is the X-56A.

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>> Ready for takeoff structures?

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>> Structures is ready.

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>> Systems?

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>> And we're trying to actually
actively suppress flutter

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and play.

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>> ...we are ready
for your calls.

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>> Airborne.

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>> (Background Conversation)
So what that means is that ok,

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we're going to keep the flexible
wings, we're going to still have

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in the flight envelope, but what

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if we can use you know
our existing control flaps

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to actually suppress flutter?

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Instead of saying, "Ok, we
don't want our wing to twist,"

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because that...you
don't understand

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that could be a bad thing.

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What if we intentionally
twist the wing to try

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and get you know
better flight dynamics?

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Originally we thought, "Ok,
we're designing that out,"

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but we have to reconsider
it and instead of trying

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to avoid these problems,
we want to exploit it.

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So turning a bad guy into a good
guy is what we're trying to do.

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00:03:06,300 --> 00:03:07,790
>> 'A' on condition.

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>> 162 select.

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>> Selected.

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>> First strut.

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>> Strutting.

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>> If it's down, up, 1
over, shoot, and back.

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>> So one of the cool
things about working

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at NASA Armstrong
Flight Research Center

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that keeps me coming back every
day is seeing how the projects

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are worked on.

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You see start from concept
all the way to flight.

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A lot of times you'll only look

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at one certain part
of a test program.

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You'd become the expert in
doing this type of analysis,

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but then you'd never
actually see that aircraft

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or flight article that
you're working on.

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So it's a great experience
working here

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that you do analysis,
you work with a vehicle,

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you staff the control
room, you're right there

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with the crew briefs,
you work with the pilots,

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you see your program
from beginning to end

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and it really helps bring
a strong appreciation

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for what goes on into the
life cycle of a program.