The U of A Aero Heavy Lift Group is heading to California, where they will compete against university students from around the world.
Edmonton-You might think that if a student group won third place at an international aeronautics design competition last spring they would pretty much stick with the same design elements this year. But then, you'd be wrong.
The Faculty of Engineering's Aero Heavy Lift Group will be competing against student groups from around the world at the SAE Aero Design West competition in Van Nuys, California, April 24 - 26 using a completely new aircraft design.
The challenge for the team is to design a build a remote-control aircraft capable of flight carrying a payload weighing 20 lbs. There are a few catches: engine size is restricted, the payload has to be loaded on or off the aircraft within 60 seconds, the plane has just 200 feet to get off the ground, and the team is penalized if its plane can carry more than the predicted 20-lbs. load.
"Part of the competition is adhering to your design," said Mia Au, a mechanical engineering student in her second year of studies who joined the team this year. "If you say you're going to lift 20 lbs. and lift more than 20 your score drops-the point is that you build it exactly as designed."
One of the reasons this year's plane has been more or less completely redesigned is to solve some problems and improve performance. Last year the team struggled to meet the 60-second payload time limit so this year's plane has been designed with a nose that folds upward, opening the fuselage. The team borrowed the idea from large military transport planes like the C-130 Galaxy. Loading the small steel weights will be far simpler this year.
Another modification is the landing gear-this year's plane model moved a wheel from beneath the tail to beneath the nose of the plane. Last year, when the team landed with a 12-lbs. load during competition the wheels literally fell off the aircraft.
Team captain Anders Carlstad says members of the team pulled an all-nighter to repair the plane, which successfully flew and landed the next day with a predicted 15-lbs. payload.
Pulling together and overcoming the setback was good for the group, said Carlstad, adding that their shared success built a stronger team.
A third-year mechanical engineering student, Carlstad has been on the team two years-this is his first as leader. And he's relying on advice from more senior students to help develop leadership skills.
Both Carlstad and Au say that students participating in groups such as this tend to teach one another and provide each other with guidance and advice. In some cases, students taking part in design projects learn about engineering principles through the group before learning them in the classroom.
"It's nice to be able to go from the classroom and take what you've learned and apply it to designing, building, testing and competing," he said.
For Au, who is in the engineering co-op program, being a member of the Aero Heavy Lift Group gives her an advantage when it comes to finding a job.
"It definitely helps," she said. "Taking part in student vehicle projects or other extracurricular activities looks a lot better to employers, I think, than just a high GPA."
Learn more about the group on its website, the University of Alberta Aero Heavy Lift Group facebook page, or on twitter at @aerohlg.