Students:
- Marissa Burgh,
- Ned Geueke,
- Thomas Kaluzny,
- Kevin Schenk,
- Brian Trovillion
Advisor: L. Grega
The main objective of the 2014 TCNJ Aero Design team is to design and manufacture a R.C airplane for the SAE Aero Design Regular Class Competition East in Marietta, Georgia by April 8th. The aircraft will be designed so that it can hold the most payload while being as light as possible. The total weight of the plane including the payload must not exceed 65 lbs and the payload bay must be a closed volume under 4 x 4 x 10 +1/8, -0 inches. The motor must also be fully electric, which will change the design drastically from previous years, and the total dimensions (width + length + height) must not exceed 175 in.
The aircraft design is split up into five main components: The wings, landing gear, tail, fuselage, and motor. Each of the parts has their own parameters which affects and are affected by the other components of the aircraft. The wings, tail, and motor will mainly be designed from the theory of various aerodynamic and fluid mechanic concepts while the landing gear and fuselage design will be influenced by structural mechanics and theories. The aircraft will be modeled and tested in software like ANSYS, Fluent, and Pro ENGINEER to see if the results of real world tests match the ones obtained from software tests. Once the design is finished and the engine is tested in the fall, assembly and manufacturing will begin in the winter.