Jake Eppehimer

Legioneering 11 Years of Service. 1 Vision for the Future of Human-AI Interaction. 🚤🏆🚀 Today, as we celebrate 20 years of https://nortexmarine.com serving the DFW boating community at Nortex Marine Sales & Service, we aren't just looking back at the wake we’ve left behind—we are looking at the horizon of what’s next. I’m thrilled to share a sneak peek into our custom-tailored AQ/AI framework. This isn't just another "chatbot." We are building a Cognition-Safe Interface designed with AquaSphere Ethics at its core. What does "Cognition-Safe" mean for the future of Marine Tech? In an era of "gamified" apps designed to hijack your attention, we are choosing a different path. Our AI HUD (Heads-Up Display) is built on the principles of Quantum Compression Recall: ✅ Non-Directive Visuals: Fluid, organic forms that respect your subconscious. No aggressive strobing or algorithmic "nudges." ✅ Temporal Calm: Motion speeds designed to avoid "alpha-lock," keeping the user in conscious control, not a hypnotic loop. ✅ Agency-First Design: Whether it’s managing a fleet or recalling technical specs, the interface serves the human, not the other way around. Why this matters for Nortex Marine: As we enter our third decade in Garland, Texas, our mission remains the same: providing the best service on the water. But the tools are evolving. We are moving from simple automation to Agentic Workflows—AI that acts as a respectful, conscious partner in your marine experience. This is more than a HUD; it’s a commitment to ethical technology that respects the mental space of our captains and crews. Stay tuned as we map this interface into the AquaSphere Canon Index and continue to lead the way in North Texas. Here’s to the next 20 years of innovation, integrity, and being out on the water. 🌊

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Propel 2nd Phase Selection Last semester, as part of the collaboration efforts between Pratt & Whitney (P&W) and the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez, we launched “PROPEL: A Special Project Competition by TurboLab”. The intent was to provide funding to special projects that are related to the aerospace field. In December 2024, it was announced that three projects were selected for Phase 1: AeroDesign, Colegio Racing Engineering, and LIFTS (Launch Initiatives for Technologies in Space). Students were able to work on their proposals, present at multiple events, prepare progress reports, and provide a final presentation to representatives from P&W PR. This initiative impacted more than 150 undergraduate students. We are happy to announce that this semester, we have moved forward with Phase 2 and awarded AeroDesign and Colegio Racing Engineering with $15,000 each to continue with the development, design, and assistance to participate in international competitions. Students were notified last week on an event celebrated at TurboLab. Congratulations to the teams selected, and keep working to represent Puerto Rico internationally and continue having a great impact on the local students. Special thanks to Yarelis Del Carmen Rivera, JD Sandra Quinones Torres, M.S. Sheilla Torres-Nieves Oficina de Prensa Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez Agustín Rullán Cristina Pomales-Garcia #TurboLab #PROPEL # UPRM #Pratt&Whitney

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Another powerful example of why building a strong Defense-Tech ecosystem is critical for Puerto Rico’s long-term technological development. Strategic investments in advanced aerospace and defense capabilities don’t just create jobs — they accelerate the growth of local talent, strengthen technical expertise, and build institutional knowledge that compounds over time. Through continued investments at Collins Aerospace sites, RTX is helping cultivate a deep bench of engineers, software developers, technicians, operators, and mission-driven professionals on the island. Defense-Tech ecosystems have historically served as catalysts for innovation, workforce development, and high-value industry growth. When we invest in complex, high-performance technologies, we elevate the entire ecosystem — from universities and startups to suppliers and advanced manufacturing. Puerto Rico has the talent. With sustained investment and collaboration, we can continue positioning the island as a hub for aerospace, software, and advanced systems engineering in the Americas. If you’re passionate about contributing to a high-impact, innovation-driven future for Puerto Rico, now is the time to engage.

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🚀 🛰️ ✈️ ⚛️ This is exactly right across much of aerospace. The real bottleneck to realizing useful and reliable systems isn’t innovation — it’s 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, and 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆. I would add that robust 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 capabilities are equally critical, but modeling alone is insufficient without high-quality anchoring data. We’ve begun to overcome these bottlenecks in the commercialization of launch vehicles, but only because that progress is built on more than 70 years of accumulated experience: materials databases, launch environment characterization, propellant chemistry, combustion instability research, and repeated engine and vehicle fielding — much of it government-sponsored. Today’s commercial successes are standing on that foundation. In other areas of aerospace — especially where we’ve either 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 done something before or haven’t done it in decades — that foundation simply doesn’t exist. The underlying data, engineering intuition, and system-level experience gained from a range of activities spanning basic R&D to fielding flight hardware are missing. That makes success far more difficult, and it’s precisely why sustained investment in 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 and 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 is essential. These capabilities are what close the gap between promising concepts, credible technology readiness, and operational systems. #Aerospace #SystemsEngineering #TestAndEvaluation #DeepTech #Innovation #CommercialSpace

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It doesn't matter if you work in Design-Manufacturing-Quality; Each indicator used in GDT application brings improvement, comfort and more tolerance, not confusion or difficulty. GDT is a cost-effective concept.

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I am happy to release my newest app project, Airfolio.live It is a modernized airfoil database featuring a fast geometry search engine, airfoil generation tools, control surface analysis, and an upload feature for the community to share new designs on the site. Most importantly, I have integrated a neural network based performance analysis for rapid aerodynamic predictions. This leverages Peter Sharpe's AeroSandbox and NeuralFoil - huge credit goes to those projects. This analysis capability powers the new comparison page, where users can filter up to 300 airfoils by CLmax, L/D, and design CL at any custom flow condition. This performance tool actually enabled me to discover a unique airfoil, PSU94097, for use in my real-world design project. The site is currently in beta, so I welcome any feedback and bug reports! https://airfolio.live/ https://lnkd.in/gRZN9yDV

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Below is Part 7 of my white paper series on EVTOL technology development titled "DESIGN TO FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION, BUT A REQUIREMENT". For all aerospace products low weight is critical, but nowhere is weight more critical than on VTOL aircraft. In an ideal world, all VTOL aircraft parts would have infinite life. In the real world however, limited part lives and margins of safety must be balanced against weight and cost, otherwise VTOL aircraft would be too heavy and too costly to be practical. Therefore, with VTOL aircraft, designing parts to failure at a predictable life is not an option, but a requirement. In this paper I provide a general overview “Life Limited” parts on commercial VTOL aircraft and how they impact operating cost and dispatch reliability. I leave it to the reader to draw any comparisons to potential EVTOL aircraft. In place of links to earlier papers, Parts 1 to 6 are included for easy reference at the back of Part 7. Also, thanks to all you have read my papers and recommended changes   As always, the opinions in my papers are solely my own, and I am open to making any corrections to historical facts (and grammatical ) errors.  Enjoy!

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