UCI 2021 AIAA Design Build Fly

The 2021-2022 rules were centered around a remotely operated vaccine package delivery aircraft. The vehicle had to takeoff, land, sequentially deploy a vaccine package, takeoff, and repeat. Points were awarded for the amount of vaccine packages delivered in a 10 minute window. The principle challenge was to design a deployment mechanism capable of securing multiple vaccine packages and reliably deploy them in a sequential manner.

Twin motors and full span flaps were used to meet the required TOFL of 20ft. They also reduced the disk loading of each propeller to preserver propeller efficiency at the high cruise speeds. Energy was fixed as the aircraft's battery was capped at 200W-hr.

Since each vaccine package required flying a 3000ft course between each delivery, it was important to reduce the aircraft's drag to maximize the distance traveled. The vaccine packages as well as the deployment mechanism were fully enclosed in the faired balsa fuselage. Vaccine deployment consisted of a servo-actuated conveyer belt programed to move a specific distance per actuation so as to only deploy one package. A servo-actuated ramp hinged from the aft of the fuselage to provide a controlled descent so the vaccine package would not be damaged.

Vaccine had to be deployed on a specific location on the runway in order to score a point for each payload dropped. This presented a unique challenge to the competition since a significant portion of time would be spent taxiing the aircraft between landing, deployment, and takeoff. To minimize maneuvering time, electric wheel brakes were fitted on the main gear so that that the aircraft could be accurately and quickly guided to the deployment spot.

Rules:

DBF 2021-22 Rules.

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