Edition: Model Aviation - 2016/08
Page Numbers: 139
Portrait of Lawrence Tougas, Vice President of District X

District X—Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah

Portrait of Lawrence Tougas, Vice President of District X
Lawrence Tougas, Vice President

Lawrence Tougas
Vice President

ama.district10@gmail.com
Box 276, Fairfield CA 94533
Tel: (707) 480-2053; www.ama10.org

The American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) hosts a remote-controlled aircraft design competition every spring for university engineering students called Design Build Fly. The objective is to give students experience designing, constructing, and learning to fly model aircraft. It proves a unique experience for students while promoting model aviation and securing its future in younger generations.

This year’s competition rules were designed to mimic an aircraft distribution production scenario, where a cargo aircraft (called the Manufacturing Support Aircraft) is needed to relocate subassemblies of the aircraft in production (called the Production Aircraft) to its final assembly location. Scoring was based on three main factors: the weight of the aircraft; the number of subassemblies the Production Aircraft is divided into for delivery; and the ability to complete laps around a course in a designated amount of time.

The Production Aircraft was required to carry a 32-ounce Gatorade bottle as its payload, while taking off within 100 feet and completing three laps around a 2,500-foot course within 5 minutes. The Manufacturing Support Aircraft was required to complete three laps around the same course in 5 minutes, and complete laps while carrying the subassemblies of the smaller aircraft.

San Jose State University placed first in the event, designing two model aircraft that effectively completed all objectives with minimal aircraft weight. The Production Aircraft was designed to fit entirely within the Manufacturing Support Aircraft without disassembling, further increasing their score.

The team chose to eliminate ailerons on both aircraft to reduce structural and component weight, since weight has a considerable impact on the score. Using only elevator and rudder for control, a significant amount of dihedral was necessary to use the rudder for roll control.

The Production Aircraft used a box-tail design, which is essentially two horizontal stabilizers placed on top of each other like a biplane’s wings. This reduced the span of its horizontal stabilizer by half, and the span of the vertical stabilizer by one third. This tail design is reminiscent of World War I bombers such as the Vickers Vimy.

The Manufacturing Support Aircraft used a more conventional aircraft configuration, with the exception of the doors required to allow the smaller aircraft to be carried internally. The wings of the aircraft were designed with doors in the lower surface to allow insertion of the smaller aircraft’s wings and with a large door to allow room for the smaller aircraft’s fuselage.

The aircraft’s construction was largely inspired by a 1970’s sailplane designed by Mark Smith called the Windfree. It was constructed with spruce hardwood spars, balsa sheeting, and light plywood. Some of the parts were further refined using modern CAD drawings and laser cutting, allowing for greater precision and the addition of many lightening holes in the structure.

San Jose State University’s team was composed of six senior aerospace engineering students and an adviser. Members included team leader Tyler Sanders, Chris Dickason, Roshan Patel, Andrew Yany, John Paul Dela Cruz, and Kevin Surban. Tyler was the team leader because of his extensive experience with both building and flying model aircraft from the age of eight, made possible by the two generations of aeromodeling enthusiasts in his family. The academic adviser was Gonzalo Mendoza who brought extensive knowledge to the team from his background as manager of loads, acoustics, and dynamics at Textron Aviation.

Pilot and ground crew celebrating after a successful mission
Pilot Tyler Sanders and ground crewman John Paul Dela Cruz celebrate after a successful final mission. Photo by Anindya Gosh.
Manufacturing Support Aircraft in flight
The Spartan’s Manufacturing Support Aircraft in flight. Gosh photo.
Group photo of the San Jose State University team
The team (top row L-R) Andrew Yany, Gonzalo Mendoza, Tyler Sanders, Chris Dickason, and John Paul Dela Cruz; (bottom row L-R) Roshan Patel and Kevin Surban. Photo by Jim Zumsteg.

The team (top row L-R) Andrew Yany, Gonzalo Mendoza, Tyler Sanders, Chris Dickason, and John Paul Dela Cruz; (bottom row L-R) Roshan Patel and Kevin Surban. Photo by Jim Zumsteg.

My thanks to Tyler Sanders for penning this month’s column and congratulations to the Spartans for their winning designs. Until next month, happy landings. —♦—

Associate Vice Presidents:

Coordinators: