Real life maths - Hannah West

​As well as being a STEM Ambassador, Lieutenant Commander Hannah West is also a Requirements Manager in the Air Platform Systems Project Team in the Royal Navy. Hannah has been responsible for managing a maintenance department, supporting the flying operations of three helicopters. Her role involved coordinating the medium/long-term planning of helicopter maintenance. In particular, when a fault emerged on a helicopter that was outside the remit of the maintenance manuals, it would be her responsibility to determine a safe way to proceed and ultimately decide if the aircraft was safe to fly.

This challenge explores the wear and tear on the airframes of Royal Navy aircraft. Students will organise and interpret data on how crack lengths correlate with flying time and use a line of best fit to predict when parts are likely to need to be repaired or replaced.

KS3 maths curriculum links:

• Describe and compare uni-variate empirical distributions through: appropriate graphical representation involving discrete, continuous and grouped data; and appropriate measures of central tendency and spread.

• Describe simple mathematical relationships between two variables in observational and experimental contexts.

Other curriculum links:

Physics – forces; measurements and accuracy.
Design & Technology/Engineering – structures and resistant materials.
PSHE: ethical/moral and economic decision-making.