Our project this year is to design, build, and fly a glider (no propulsion). Your design must have at least a wing (no darts). We will bungee launch your glider so you’ll need to attach a hook of some kind (near the front half, and protruding so the airplane won’t get snagged). You are welcome to use whatever materials you like, but you’ll be limited in span to fit between the pavilion posts (7.5 ft). Since you didn’t have to purchase a textbook you can think of your materials cost as your textbook fee. You will self-select teams of 3.
The main objective is to glide the furthest. Small bonuses may be awarded for the furthest gliding aircraft, exceptional design analysis or build quality, designs that have a higher degree of difficulty, are innovative, or anything else we find particularly impressive.
While definitely not expected, some of you are interested in adding servos/ailerons. You will be allowed to use them to complete the mission, but any toss that uses active control won’t count towards the furthest glide award (although you would still be eligible for bonus points on your design/build).
Use of the foam cutter is optional, but if you want to use it, sign up for a time with the TAs using this link. You will need to come ready with your geometry fully defined in Devwing. Download the software here. Scroll down and download Devwing Foam (version 2.07b). You’ll have to use a computer with Windows on it. Here is a tutorial: part 1, part 2. Keep in mind that each wing section has a maximum length of 762 mm (2.5 ft). NGX 250 pink foam has a density of 1.54 lb/ft^3. You can buy this foam at Home Depot or Lowes. It comes in 4 ft x 8 ft sheets, so you will want to share with another team(s). The aeronautics club also usually stocks some foam that you can purchase from them.
The following milestones are designed to help keep you on track. But don’t feel limited by them. For example, you might want to have part of your team start building some parts while you are still working out other aspects of the design.
In class you will give a 10–15-minute presentation on your current design. We realize you may not be done with your design yet, but will give feedback on whatever you have ready to go. The purpose of the review is to have a dialogue to allow for helpful feedback and to answer questions. You don’t need to spend time making fancy slides, but you do need to present key information clearly so that we can have a meaningful discussion. Here are some elements you should consider:
Like the design review you’ll have 10 or so minutes to present any components you’ve built and discuss other building plans.
We’ll launch from the main pavilion in Rock Canyon park, and will allow three attempts. Full points awarded for crossing the sidewalk at the bottom of the hill (partial points awarded for shorter distances or half points for completing the distance with a hand launch).
Submit a PDF (one per team) describing your design, build, and flyoff. In addition to the design guidelines above, include multiple photos of the completed build and describe the details of your manufacturing process. Describe any design changes that were made and include views of your design to compare to the actual build.