Luke Bughman from Monrovia (third from right, back row), a member of Cal Poly's Design Build Fly club, recently supported the club's participation in one of the aviation industry's premier student contests.
Cal Poly was a finalist in the international Design/Build/Fly radio-controlled aircraft competition, placing 15th in a crowded field of 80. The event, which attracts top aerospace engineering student teams from throughout the world, is sponsored by the AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics), Cessna Aircraft Company and Raytheon Missile Systems.
The final fly-off portion of the competition was held April 10-12 in Wichita, Kansas, amid heavy rains and wind, with San Jose State University placing first.
This year's contest challenged students to design and build two airplanes so that one would fit into the other. The flight demonstration in Wichita took the form of three sequenced flight missions. In the first, the larger aircraft was flown alone; in the second, the smaller aircraft served as a payload in the mother ship; and in the third, the smaller aircraft carried a payload in the form of a 32-ounce Gatorade bottle.
"We finished missions one and two with ease, even in the very strong winds of Wichita," said Alex Wielandt, president of the Cal Poly Design Build Fly club. "We were unable to complete mission three, however, due to ground control issues and weather. We placed very well considering we didn't complete a third of the missions. Despite this, we received much praise from other teams regarding our entry's lightweight and innovative design."
Others on the team included Jake Stone, chief financial officer; Kurt Ebert, technical lead; Patrick Ailes, pilot; and members Nia Asmady, Jimmy Wu, Charlie Ross, Angela Wong, Nathan Rower, Jared Lehmann, Ben Kenworthy, Samuel Chung and Josh Buckhalter.
"All in all, we learned a lot and look forward to next year's challenge," said Wielandt.
Source: press release
- Brad Haugaard
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