Design Build and Fly

Clarkson University » Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering

The Design, Build and Fly competition is an annual competition sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Cessna Aircraft Company and the Office of Naval Research (ONR.) The 2006 competition was held on April 21-23 at Cessna Field in Wichita, KS and details can be found here.

The Clarkson "Golden Skunks" Team 2006 in Wichita, Kansas

Students must design and construct a fixed-wing, electric-powered aircraft that weighs less than 55 pounds and flies a predetermined course with a specified payload matrix. This project provides students interested in aeronautical design and construction an opportunity to participate in a team environment to produce a product that meets a specific set of requirements as outlined by competition rules, much as a commercial venture would produce a proposal based on the customer's needs. Undergraduates, freshman to senior, are exposed to the concept of group design. Students learn how to integrate the many aspects of design and to balance the advantages and disadvantages of various design possibilities. For many, this is the first opportunity to see the design process as it is in many corporations.

Freshman John Hrynuk works on the aircraft at the Cessna hanger in Wichita

Subteams work on specific areas of aircraft design, such as aerodynamics, structures or controls. The subteams then have to integrate their designs into the vehicle so that it meets the requirements set by other design teams. The students must size an aircraft based on the requirements set by competition rules. Then they evaluate possible aircraft configurations to best fulfill the requirements. The students must construct the entire aircraft and submit written decisions made and methods used in the design. Knowledge gained through this process is applicable to any engineering problem encountered in industry.

2006 General Mission Information

Teams will have a maximum of 5 flight attempts. A flight attempt isdefined as advancing the throttle stick for take-off, or going past the 2minute preparation time. The best Single Flight Score from eachof 2 different mission types will be summed for the team's TotalFlight Score.

• Aircraft must fit into a 4 foot x 2 foot x 1-1/4 foot internal dimension box.
• Payloads may not be carried in external pods.
• Aircraft must fit into a 4 foot x 2 foot x 1-1/4 foot internal dimension box.
• On all flight laps the aircraft must complete at least one 360o turn in the opposite direction of the flight pattern.
• Take-off distance is 100 ft wheels off the runway. For each take-off of a multi-sortie mission the aircraft may be returned to the start line for each new take-off, or may start from its present location providing that location is past the take-off line. In either case the maximum take-off distance allowance will be MEASURED from the start line.
• Maximum mission time is 10 minutes.Teams must select one of the following missions for each flight. You may select a different mission for each of your scoring flight attempts.

  Cargo Flexibility Mission - Difficulty Factor 10

  • Aircraft must be capable of carrying all of the three standard payloads:
  • 48 loose tennis balls. Tennis balls are 2.5-2.625 diameter and 57-58g.
  • Two 2-Liter soda bottles full of water
  • A single large rectangular wood block no larger than 4 x4 x24 weighing not more than 8 lbs

  Minimum RAC - Difficulty Factor 150

  • Aircraft must carry 96 loose tennis balls for a minimum flight (air) time of 2 minutes. Tennis balls are 2.5-2.625 diameter and 57-58g.
  • You may carry all of the balls on a single flight if desired, or you may make multiple flights each with fewer balls.
  • here is no score if you do not successfully fly all of the required payload.

  Incremental Payload - Difficulty Factor 1.25

  • Aircraft will fly as many laps as the team determines possible. On each lap the payload to be carried will be increased.
  • Load 2 x 2-Liter soda bottles filled with water. Take off and fly one lap of the course and land.
  • Load an additional 2-Liter soda bottle filled with water. Take off and fly one lap of the course and land.

  Senior Chris Libordi pilots the Clarkson team's 2006 entry

  
  
  

  Team Score
  Each team's overall score will be computed from their Written Report Score, Total Flight Score, and the Rated Aircraft Cost using the formula:

  Score = Written Report Score x Total Flight Score x Rated Aircraft Cost

  
  
  
  
  
  DBF CD
  The DBF CD is available online by simply clicking here or you can download in either Mac (.dmg) or PC (.zip) format and run on your own machine. It is all written in HTML so it works with any browser.
  
  Official Competition Design, Build and Fly Homepage
  http://www.aae.uiuc.edu/aiaadbf/
  
  Clarkson Uiversity AIAA Faculty Advisor
  Dr. Kenneth Visser
  Associate Professor
  361 CAMP, PO Box 5725
  Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699-5725
  T: 315-268-7687
  E-mail: visser@clarkson.edu