Keith Henry
Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA
(Phone: 757/864-6120)
Mary Sandy
Virginia Space Grant Consortium
(Phone: 757/865-0726)
Beth Bohn
Kansas State University (Manhattan and Salina)
(Phone: 913/532-6415)
RELEASE NO. 98-066
FIRST FLY-IT, BUILD-IT COMPETITION
Kansas Student Team Unveils Airplane Design
Oshkosh, Wis. -- A group of student engineers from Kansas
have designed an aircraft that will enable a person to fly his or
her personal airplane as easily as one would drive a car. A
radio-controlled model of the design will be displayed July 31
through August 3 at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA's)
AirVenture 98 to be held in Oshkosh, Wis. The student team will
also present a NASA Technical Forum for air show attendees.
The design, dubbed "Aladdin" by the students, is the product of
students at four Kansas universities. The team won funding to
develop the model through the National General Aviation Design
Competition which is sponsored by NASA and the Federal Aviation
Administration. The competition encourages university student teams
to participate in a national effort to revitalize general aviation.
The design was developed under a new award category -- Design-It,
Build-It, Fly-It -- which is co-sponsored by the EAA. This category
allows students to take a well-evolved design to a proof of concept
phase.
The radio-controlled, jet-powered Aladdin model aircraft uses a
new "de-coupled" flight control system. The result is an aircraft
which offers flight control similar to driving an automobile. This
makes flying easier, and significantly shortens the time and
expense of training. The team's hope is that a plane that is easier
to fly will encourage more people to become pilots.
For example, with a conventional flight control system, when the
pilot advances the engine throttle, not only does the airspeed of
the aircraft increase, but the airplane will climb. The climb is
due to an increase in lift generated by the wings at the higher
speed. With a de-coupled system, the pilot advances the throttle to
increase speed just like the gas pedal in a car. The computer then
makes the necessary adjustments to the engine and elevators to
increase the airspeed, while maintaining the altitude of the
aircraft.
Student teams submitted design concept proposals to the
competition last fall. The Kansas Design Team received notice in
December that they had won. The team is comprised of, a group of 30
students and 7 faculty from The University of Kansas (KU),
Lawrence; Wichita State University (WSU), Wichita; Kansas State
University (KSU), Manhattan; and Pittsburg State University (PSU),
Pittsburg., received notice in December that they had won.
Building the Aladdin has been an intense process of design and
redesign and has been cited by the students as a valuable
educational experience. "Now I understand why there are delays in
the aircraft industry," said How Meng Au, KU aerospace engineering
graduate student and student team leader. "There were a lot of
things we didn't know about until we reached that point in the
design. I guess it was like the real world in that sense." The
students gained valuable experience in working as team. "Working on
a team, you've got to be open to lots of ideas," said Matt
Stinemetze, WSU aerospace engineering graduate and WSU team
captain. Stinemetze said he is confident in the work the team has
accomplished.
The Aladdin radio-controlled model has a wingspan of 10 feet, a
length of nine feet and a height of approximately three feet. It
weighs approximately 70 pounds. The Aladdin sports an on-board
video camera that links to a ground station, allowing the pilot to
fly the Aladdin beyond visual range. For conventional
radio-controlled aircraft, the pilot has to maintain constant
visual contact with the aircraft in order to fly it.
Protecting their investment and a concern for safety persuaded
the team to install install a parachute system, deployable by the
radio-controlled pilot on the ground or by the model's computer if
it detects a failure mode. The parachute is installed in the hatch
where the windshield would be in an actual aircraft.
The team received a $10,000 development award from NASA and the
FAA. The students will also received an award of $500 from the EAA
at AirVenture 98. The aerospace departments at the four
universities contributed funds as well. How Meng puts a
conservative estimate for the project's total cost at $100,000. The
team received $10,000 for project construction from the competition
sponsors.
Each university was responsible for particular aspects of the
Aladdin design. The KU team members were in charge of configuration
design and analysis as well as overall team management. The
parachute system, integrating components and model construction was
led by WSU. The de-coupled flight control system and ground station
were designed by KSU team members. PSU was responsible for
designing the electrical system and power distribution.
The National General Aviation Design Competition is coordinated
for NASA by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium. Copies of the
guidelines for the 1998-99 Academic Year Competition can be
requested by calling 757/865-0726.
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