Success of the students of Poznan University of Technology!
SAE Aero Design is an international competition in which students of technical universities participate. The contest consists in unassisted design and construction of remote-controlled planes that will be able to carry as much weight as possible. The contestants have to present their models before a panel of judges and perform a flight under load. The competition has been taking place since 1986 and its organiser is the international Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).
"I am very glad that students from Poznan will again represent our city in such a prestigious contest", says Katarzyna Kierzek-Koperska, the Deputy President of Poznan. "Participation in the SAE Aero Design is for them not only a technical challenge, but also a chance to present their knowledge and abilities before representatives of tycoons of North American aviation industry. It makes me extremely happy that we can once again support their trip financially. I hope it will be as fruitful as the previous ones", she adds.
Students will participate in contest that will take place on 6-8 March in Lakeland, Florida (SAE Aero Design USA East) and on 3-5 April in Fort Worth, Texas (SAE Aero Design USA West). The constructors will be judged by a very strict jury. The people who sit on it are engineers from the biggest aviation concerns. Last year they were, among others, representatives of the Lockheed Martin company, which produces the famous F-16 and F-35 planes.
The residents of Poznan will enter the contest in two categories: Regular class and Micro class. "This year the competition will differ from what we saw in previous years. The regulations for the Regular class have changed considerably. That is why the requirements and tasks we are presented with and even the rules of the game in the aerial competitions will be completely different", says Jan Dominiak from the Academic Flying Club at the Poznan University of Technology. "It was necessary to design and build a completely new plane. This year, our construction is very light and sturdy. Additionally, we focused on aerodynamics, thanks to which we improved its flying properties", he points out.
The plane that will enter the competition in the Regular class has wingspan of over 3 m and is powered by an electric engine of 1,000 watts. Its construction is made mainly of aeronautical plywood, which is also reinforced with aluminium elements in places that require additional strength. Interestingly enough, the plane is able to lift more than it weighs itself. "However, we cannot quote the exact numbers before the competition", Jan Dominiak adds.
The construction designed to participate in the Micro class competition has wingspan of less than a metre and is over 80 cm long. It is powered by an engine of 250 watts.
The students worked on their design under the supervision of Radosław Górzeński, PhD Eng, lecturer at the Poznan University of Technology. "During the contest, the participants confront theory with practice. They have to present a report and a technical presentation as well as justify the technology employed during the creation of the model. They also have to prove to the jury that their idea is not only well-thought-out and justified, but also profitable. It is also a test of their teamwork abilities, responsibility and cooperation", Radosław Górzeński points out.
It is not the first time when the students from the Academic Flying Club at the Poznan University of Technology represent Poznan abroad. Thanks to, among other things, city grant-aids they have been participating in the prestigious competition since 2008. Last year, they came back with two medals. The residents of Poznan were placed 1st in classification of technical presentations in Texas and 2nd in the same category in Mexico. In turn, in 2018 they won three gold medals - in general classification of the Regular class, in flights classification and in classification of technical presentations. For the students from Poznan it will be the 13th time they will have entered the SAE Aero Design competition. During that whole time, they have reached the podium as many as 23 times. To top it off, they can boast of successes in other, similar competitions, such as AUVSI SUAS, which this year will take place in Maryland, USA.
This is what the tests of the model that took part in the competition last year looked like:
wideo
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