António Bento

-Develop overall aircraft/system level product architectures -Prepare and review engineering/architectural diagrams, and design specifications -Collaborate with other system and software development engineers -Select suitable avionics units and electromechanical components -Interact with costumers and the engineering team -Plan and participate in system integration, testing and system verification -Contributions to CAD of parts/assemblies, design and manufacturing of prototypes and test setups

- Development of test setups for actuator systems - Assistance in integration of actuator systems for autonomous flight within existing aircraft - Mechanical integration of electronic systems - Low-level PCB design

I was involved in one of the hundreds of Formula Student projects which typically are "short" in time and budget. The goal of my team, composed of 43 individuals, was to design, build, test and compete an electrical prototype in just one year. Being my last year on this team I was in charge of the project planning and budget. I had to assure everything was broken down to work packages which were well integrated and foreseen in the Gantt chart of the project.

As chief engineer of this team, I was responsible for the whole vehicle. My job involved assuring quality, safety and performance in all situations. I was compelled to learn and apply quality control, human resource management, system integration, basic know-how of all of the vehicle and had to have sufficient technical knowledge and experience to oversee most of the technical issues and presented solutions, assuring the best solution for every case.

I was responsible for the brake system and composite rims of a Formula Student prototype. I gained experience with composite materials, mechanical design, fatigue design and most of the engineering software I mention in my portfolio. I was able to focus on how the brake system of such a vehicle works and on how I could improve it. I was also able to learn how to correctly model and optimize the layup of a composite part. I worked with pre-preg carbon fiber that required the use of an autoclave.