Final Reflection

The whole reason Faris, Giuseppe, and I started this project of building a windmill is because we all care about the environment. Almost every weekend in the summer, we will spend our time in the woods camping, enjoying. However, we all have a deep understanding that, at the rate things are going now, the planet and places we love, will be gone. So, we took it upon ourselves to start setting a standard of what energy at Hawken, in this country, and across the world should look like. By creating a sustainable source of energy at Hawken, it would give students with similar interests the gateway towards creating a more environmentally friendly community. 

I think, from the beginning, our design was slightly flawed. We knew what we wanted to do, but we never really looked into what we could do. Looking back on it, it was foolish of us to this that we would be able to design and construct a wind turbine that stuck out from above the trees in a three-week period. The question we wanted to answer over the course of the project was how cost and time-effective we can make the production of the turbine while still being sturdy enough to last once we have left Hawken. I think we got an answer to that question: we cant. Now this is not to say that no part of this could have been done, but cost and time effective is very difficult. For example, we tried to be cost-effective by using an old washing machine motor as a generator, but it ended up being very time-consuming, taking up nearly a week and a half to barely work in the end.  

I think throughout the course of the project, the best skill I learned was simply how to use illustrator. After not using it since freshman year, i was a little rusty, but after a few hours of working on the blade bracket design, I became much more knowledgeable in that area and I would say I learned a lot. 

I think the most important part of the project for me, and a piece of advice I would like to pass on, is that preparation is everything. If you have a well-researched, planned-out proposal before even submitting it, it will be much easier to start once projects begin. RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH.

Lastly, I would like to give a huge thank you to Mr. D and Mr. Harris. Without their help and advice, we would not have made it as far as we did. THANK YOU!!!!!!