Momentum - September 2021 - 5

STUDENT GENERATION
Carrying as many soccer balls as possible was part of
the Regular Class challenge. The University of Puerto Rico
- Mayagüez team used a biplane scheme to do so.

SAE Aero Design
2021 highlights
wingspan, and a payload that included ping pong balls
(colonists), Nerf footballs (habitats), water bottles (supplies),
and three colonist-delivery aircraft (autonomous gliders). Not
only is the aircraft design complex, but the mission itself
requires good communication skills between the pilots and
ground control to make sure their payloads hit a target with a
fifty-foot radius.
" Each flight round, we had to adjust our payload
configurations because our scores depended on both overall
payload quantity and balance across payload types, " Lau said.
The team had a flight round where they delivered an offbalance
ratio of colonists (ping pong balls) compared to the
amount of water and habitats needed to optimize their score,
so they made the necessary adjustments for their remaining
flights to get the highest score possible.
" We foresaw the problem in the aircraft design phase, so we
designed extra space in our payload bays for this flexibility, "
explained Lau. " We had to rapidly find payload packing
configurations during the competition, in between flight
rounds, that would allow our payload to both fit securely and
not shift during flight. "
In the Micro Class, this year's competition " was more of an
acceleration challenge, " said Gowtham Venkatachalam, team
leader. " After a table takeoff, [the plane] had to fly 300 feet as
fast as possible while carrying as many pizza boxes and steel
plates as possible. "
MOMENTUM
Members of both Georgia Tech teams pose with their aircraft and their
trophies immediately after the flight portion of SAE Aero Design 2021.
September 2021 5
Georgia Tech's NimBuzz 2000 releases " supplies to colonists on Mars, " as
required in SAE Aero Design rules for the Advanced Class.
University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez
Design Build Fly
Design Build Fly
Momentum - September 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Momentum - September 2021
