Aero
Design Team
Team after winning East Regionals 2007
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COMPETITIONS 2005 2004 2001 About the Program The Aero Design Competition challenges engineering students to conceive, design, fabricate, and test a remote piloted aircraft. The challenge of the project is to design the plane within competition parameters to carry as much weight as possible. The team competes in an annual competition, sponsored in part by the Society of Automotive Engineers, to test the design of the plane against planes from other colleges and universities. The competition is divided into two parts—design and flight. In the design event, competitors present their design and demonstrate the accuracy of their calculations in predicting the maximum payload they can lift. The flight event determines which aircraft can lift the most weight. Judging criteria included originality of the design, lifting capabilities, quality and innovation of construction techniques, and engineering calculations. In past years the Aero design team has remained rather small, with an average of five to seven members. This year’s team is almost three times this size, with more than fifteen members. With this increased participation, the team is seeking to build multiple planes and attend both East and West competitions. The team uses unique technology to stand out in competition. Composites are integrated more and more into the design and their use leads to lighter and stronger airframes. The 2001 design also utilized vacuum bagging technology to more effectively integrate composites into the design. The fuselage frame was one piece and constructed entirely out of carbon fiber, weighing only ten ounces. This technology is going to be pursued further, with use in more elements of the plane. Future design work is expected to include wind tunnel research and engine thrust and drag testing. |
