UCI 2019 AIAA Design Build Fly

The 2018-19 rules involved designing a short field length (20ft) aircraft having remotely-deploying and locking fordable wings. The aircraft also had to maximize endurance and cargo capacity while carrying and sequentially dropping external stores from the wings and fuselage.

Propulsion: Though a score analysis and preliminary design it was determined that maximizing the number of stores carried and subsequently dropped yielded the highest scoring plane. All store drop laps had to be completed within a 10 min window so speed and endurance were primary factors in optimizing propulsion.

Aerodynamics: The endurance, speed, and cargo requirements resulted in an aircraft that needed to carry a large weight of stores and batteries. This was further exacerbated by competition rules of using heavy NiMH batteries. The result was 16 pounds of aircraft that had to be airborne in 20 ft. High lift devices were explored and used including vectored thrust, flaps, and leading edge slats. The result was an aircraft that met takeoff requirements yet was still optimized for a high speed, high endurance mission.

Electronics: The large amount of moving electro-mechanical parts made integration and powering all aircraft electronics particularly challenging. Linear actuators were used for the locking and folding wing mechanisms while 15 servos were used to deploy each store. Adding the 6 servos needed for aircraft operations, up to 20 radio channels were required to fly and operate the aircraft in all 3 missions.

This year, I was in a leading position as Chief Engineer. I oversaw the design and integration of each subsystem and ensured all components fulfilled their desired performance requirements. I preformed aerodynamic and stability analysis on the overall system including a detailed drag buildup and optimization calculations to maximize points received for each attempted mission during competition. I also oversaw and led construction of components from the built-up balsa wings to the composite fiberglass-foam control surfaces.

Rules: https://f36fd410-a360-4fa3-aeda-4f6e768e9686.usrfiles.com/ugd/f36fd4_20f4affbef9d4293b16a75c9353d89e5.pdf

Report Link: https://f36fd410-a360-4fa3-aeda-4f6e768e9686.usrfiles.com/ugd/f36fd4_8bbd58fb16c946d7bebfa907cba242f7.pdf

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