Echoes

Flying pterodactyls, security for the Hope Diamond and alien Elvis impersonators. For some people, those topics provide enlightened tabloid reading in the grocery checkout line. For alumnus Jason Taylor they’re all in a day’s work.

As senior project manager and project engineer for Florida Entech Corp., Taylor’s career focuses on mechanical aspects of the entertainment industry. His work appears in major theme parks, national retail stores, science and technology museums, and the Smithsonian Museum. Projects range from amusement rides to animatronic equipment.

Although the 1990 mechanical engineering graduate’s resume might reflect a flight of fantasy, he grounds his career in basic engineering principles ranging from load-bearing limits to stress fatigue to hydraulics.

The list of Taylor’s work projects is as diverse as it is long. Some examples include:

The Hope Diamond project provided plenty of technical challenge in one of the world’s most prestigious museums. “We had to design a mechanical device to raise and lower the Hope Diamond from its safe in the Smithsonian,” Taylor said. “We also had to design a fail-safe component that drops the stone into the safe instantly when an alarm goes off or if the power goes out.”

Part of the fail-safe feature incorporates an 18-inch steel and concrete door that slams shut after the diamond drops. “We had to be sure the timing and the shock absorbers in the device were right on or we would end up with Hope Diamonds.”

Taylor’s work moves beyond the scholarly environs of the Smithsonian. He recently was project engineer and manager of a 14-foot hydraulic puppet called “The King”. Disney World contracted the project, which is part alien, part dinosaur, and part Elvis impersonator. The puppet performs in one of the theme park’s entertainment venues.

“The King” was a rush project for Disney. “We took `The King’ from a blank piece of paper to finished product in eight weeks,” Taylor said.

“The most difficult part of bringing `The King’ to life was having to run fatigue stress range analysis of his steel framing in the show dancers’ dressing room at 2 in the morning.” Final testing of the puppet took place during a dress rehearsal at the theme park. “We had to test on-site and there really wasn’t anywhere to set up our analysis. So, with all these dancers running around and changing clothes between scenes, we ran the stress calcs.”

Taylor brings many skills to this fantasy world. He must estimate the initial job, negotiate contracts, and manage the project from initial concept through fabrication to installation. The typical duration for this type of work is six months. Some jobs wrap as quickly as eight weeks while others require two years.

While Taylor knows a good amusement ride brings laughter, thrills and suspense, he puts safety first. “We design with safety as a priority,” he said, citing national steel and bridge codes to which they conform. “The industry demands we design for a 10-year life, and they request a three-year warranty. “The most difficult part of our job is developing prototype work that we have to warranty.”

More than 75 percent of Taylor’s work is of a prototype nature. Because he goes where no engineers have gone before on a daily basis, Taylor relies on basic engineering and science principles and some good old-fashioned research. One current project involves dropping a 36,000-pound wall as part of an amusement ride. The structure hangs from four wire ropes. Rope failure data were needed on the non-redundant load path for the wires. No current work was available concerning that characteristic and Taylor uncovered some research done in 1930 at the University of Stuttgart (a Rose-Hulman international exchange partner).

Much of Taylor’s research involves using analogs of something done in the real world and synthesized for his work. A 40-foot dragon with an articulated neck provides a good example. To meet movement criteria for the dragon’s neck, Taylor studied backhoe operation to provide information for linkages and armatures for the dragon’s neck.

Before a project can go live, testing must run in the shop and on-site. Many times Taylor plays a guinea pig role riding a project during the on-site shakedown. The ultimate test comes when Taylor gauges participants’ response once the ride is open to the public. If they are having fun safely, the project is a success.

Fun is one of the reasons Taylor entered entertainment engineering. After he graduated from Rose-Hulman, Taylor went to work for a Florida company called Kinetix. It focused on theme park mechanical operations.

In 1993, Taylor joined John Marhoefer to help start Florida Entech. They began as a two-man operation working above Marhoefer’s garage. Today, Florida Entech, based in Orlando, employs 40 people weaving engineering into entertainment in a 30,000 square-foot building. The company covers all engineering disciplines, and offers a complete machine shop and scene shop. Artists and graphic designers round out the team.

Of course, Taylor’s career involves more than design schematics and meeting construction codes. “The entertainment industry is a lot about networking and relationships,” he said. “You can’t be just a good engineer. You need to have good people skills. You have to be able to read into what your customer is asking for. Many times, they know what they want, but they can’t explain it. You really have to work to extract details.”

“The most rewarding part of my job,” Taylor said, “is working on a project from a blank piece of paper to the finished product, and we get to see the audience enjoy our work.” From paper to people with a lot of engineering in between.