SAE AERO Design (2021-2022)
Design and development of a 16-lb wooden fixed-wing airplane capabaly of carrying 27 soccer balls inside its wing for SAE AERO Design Competition, Regular Class.
Project Overview
From May 2021 to May 2022, I participated in the SAE AERO Design Competition as part of the Texas A&M University team. Our challenge was to design, manufacture, and test a wooden aircraft capable of carrying 27 soccer balls during flight missions. We won the 1st place in the Regular Class world-wide! It has been more than 5 years our team secures the 1st place in the world-wide SAE AERO Design Competition for regular class.
Aircraft Design and Development
The aircraft "Orca" in the air.
Key Contributions:
- Implemented Pixhawk flight controller integration for data acquisition during flight tests
- Conducted flight test data analysis for design optimization
- Designed winglets and fairings using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) analysis
- Developed and tested subscale wind-tunnel models for aerodynamic validation
The prototype of the airplane in construction. Demonstrating the soccer balls inside the wing.
Competition Video
Video documentation of our SAE AERO Design project and competition participation.
Technical Highlights
The aircraft was designed with several innovative features:
- Wooden construction optimized for strength and weight
- Truss stucture wing ribs
- Cargo bay capable of storing 27 soccer balls inside the wing
- Custom-designed winglets for improved aerodynamic efficiency (Shape like a Orca whale)
- Comprehensive CFD analysis and wind tunnel testing