Many students never apply what they learn until they enter the
work force. Aerospace Engineering students at Mississippi State
University, on the other hand, gain valuable work experience
participating in the annual Cessna/ONR (Office of Naval Research)
Student Design, Build and Fly competition.
The competition is sponsored by the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics, Cessna and the Office of Naval
Research.
MSU’s team is composed of 25 student volunteers: nine freshmen,
three sophomores, 10 juniors and three seniors. They will compete
against 43 teams from 39 universities in four countries. MSU is the
only university in the SEC participating in the competition.
The team set out to design, fabricate and fly an unmanned,
electric-powered, radio-controlled aircraft capable of fulfilling
the competition mission requirements.
According to the contest Web site, “The goal is a balanced
design possessing good demonstrated flight handling qualities and
practical and affordable manufacturing requirements while providing
a high vehicle performance.”
The aircraft will be similar to military unmanned air vehicles
(UAV), which were used in Afghanistan during the U.S. campaigns
against the Taliban.
The entire fall semester was dedicated to aircraft design. The
three-step design process for their unmanned aircraft is similar to
the design process for a real airplane. The plane went through
conceptual and preliminary design stages before the final design
was determined.
The final design was a collaboration of two sample designs
submitted by students David Bodkin and Kerry Beck, and input from
the entire team. The team took into consideration every factor that
might affect performance.
This semester the team built the aircraft and began flight
tests.
“We are making very good progress. We ran into some obstacles,
but we overcame them.” AE freshman and team pilot William Lott
said.
Most of the plane is constructed of plywood and balsa wood. The
plane is made to fit into a 4-foot by 2-foot by 1-foot box.
It is constructed for quick assembly–the team can put it
together in less than one minute.
The plane is not graded on aesthetics, but the team decided to
give the aircraft a shark’s mouth.
“The shark’s mouth gives the plane character. We take pride in
it.” said AE student Mark VanZwoll, who was in charge of covering
the plane.
The plane’s mission is to fly four laps carrying a five-pound
payload box and a simulated reconnaissance antenna.
The team held the aircrafts first test flight last Friday at
Starkville airport. It was a huge success.
The plane can fly upwards of 65 miles an hour at 4,200 R.P.M.
That’s amazing for an electric powered aircraft. The plane will fly
out of sight before it is out of radio control range.
“It flew almost perfectly. I think we have a good chance at
winning the competition,” Lott said.
The team spent countless late-night hours and weekends
perfecting the aircraft.
“I am proud of them (the team)–they worked really hard. It
takes a lot of time and dedication,” Viva Austin, an AE senior and
the team Chief Engineer, said.
There will be three cash prizes: $2,500 for first, $1,500 for
second and $1,000 for third place.
The winning teams will be invited to present their designs at
the AIAA’s Aircraft Technology, Integration and Operations 2003
Technical Forum.
The competition is hosted by the Office of Naval Research and
will be held April 25-27 at the Navy’s Patuxent River flight test
center in Maryland.
The cost of the competition, estimated at $10,000, is partly
funded by the aerospace engineering department and College of
Engineering.
The team is lobbying for money from FedEx, who offers grants to
projects like this. The team is also accepting contributions. To
make a donation, contact Stephanie Hall at [email protected].
To find out more about the Cessna/ONR design, build, fly
competition, visit
“http://www.aae.uiuc.edu/aiaadbf or www.aae.uiuc.edu/aiaadbf”
target=”_new”>http://www.aae.uiuc.edu/aiaadbf or
www.aae.uiuc.edu/aiaadbf.