2002
Rules and Vehicle Design
Updated 4 September 2002
Summary:
The AIAA through the Applied Aerodynamics, Aircraft Design, Design Engineering and Flight Test Technical Committees and the AIAA Foundation invites all university students to participate in the Cessna/ONR Student Design/Build/Fly Competition. The contest will provide a real-world aircraft design experience for engineering students by giving them the opportunity to validate their analytic studies.
Student teams will design, fabricate, and demonstrate the flight capabilities of an unmanned, electric powered, radio controlled aircraft that can best meet the specified mission profile. The goal is a balanced design possessing good demonstrated flight handling qualities and practical and affordable manufacturing requirements while providing a high vehicle performance.
To encourage innovation and maintain a fresh design challenge for each new year, the design requirements and performance objectives will be updated for each new contest year. The changes will provide new design requirements and opportunities, while allowing for application of technology developed by the teams from prior years.
Cash prizes are $2500 for 1st, $1500 for 2nd and $1000 for 3rd place. The winning teams will be invited to present their designs at the 2002 Applied Aerodynamics Conference.
Judging:
Students must design, document, fabricate, and demonstrate an aircraft they determine to be capable of achieving the highest score on the specified mission profile(s). Flight scores will be based on the demonstrated mission performance in the best three (3) flights obtained during the contest.
Each team must also submit a written Design Report. A maximum of 100 points will be awarded for the team design report. Scores for the written reports will be announced at the beginning of the fly-off.
Each aircraft will have computed a Rated Aircraft
Cost, reflecting the complexity/technology of the design. The completed RAC worksheet must be signed by the team
advisor and presented to the judges at the technical inspection.
The overall team score is a combination of the Design Report, Rated Aircraft Cost and Flight scores. The team with the highest overall team score will be declared the winner.
Contest Site:
Host for the competition will be the Cessna Aircraft Company. The fly-off will be held in Wichita Kansas, at the Cessna Field flight test facility.
Seasonal weather for April is varied: having a recorded temperature range from 15 to 96oF, with an average of 56oF. Average wind speed for April is 16 mph. Wind speed at the 1998 and 2000 DBF competitions varied from 15 to 25 mph. You can check on more weather historical conditions at www.weatherbase.com or www.weatherunderground.com.
Team Requirements:
All team members (except for a pre-approved designated pilot) must be full time students at an accredited University or College and student members of the AIAA. The team must be composed of both under classmen and upper classmen, with at least 1/3 of the members being under classmen (Freshman, Sophomores or Juniors). The pilot must be an AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) member. Teams may use a non-university member for the pilot if desired. We will also provide qualified pilots on the contest day for any teams who are unable to have their pilot attend.
Past Year Reports:
The top scoring report from the past years competition will be available for reference on the contest web site. The team with the top scoring report from this years contest will be required to submit an electronic copy of their report following the competition, which will be placed on the contest web site for the next years competition.
Sponsorship:
Teams may solicit and accept sponsorship in the form of funds or materials and components from commercial organizations. All design, analysis and fabrication of the contest entry is the sole responsibility of the team members.
Schedule:
A completed entry form (electronic) is due to the contest administrator on or before 31 October 2001. Written reports (5 copies), are due to the contest administrator by COB 12 March 2002. Scores for the written reports will be announced at the beginning of the fly-off. The contest is scheduled for 26-28 April 2002. Final awards will be presented at the end of Sunday's competition. All teams are encouraged to attend the awards presentations.
Late submissions will not be judged. Teams who do not submit the required written reports will not be allowed to fly.
Please note that tech inspections will be available on Friday 26 April. Teams are encouraged to be prepared to have your plane inspected on Friday. Inspections will also be available on Saturday, but waiting until Saturday to go through tech may mean that your team will miss one or more rounds through the flight queue. If we have a full turnout you may not be able to get in your full 3 scoring flights unless you are "ready to fly" at every opportunity.
Communications:
The contest administration will maintain a World Wide Web site containing the latest information regarding the contest schedules, rules, and participating teams. The contest web site will also contain a list of potential suppliers for materials and equipment available to build an entry. The contest web site is located at:
http://www.aae.uiuc.edu/aiaadbf
All teams are required to provide two point-of-contact e-mail addresses with their contest application, one of which must be the teams advisor.
Questions regarding the contest, schedules, or rules interpretation may be sent to the contest administrator by e-mail at:
gregory.s.page@nrl.navy.mil
The contest administrator will provide e-mail copies of questions received and their answers to all teams of record.
Written reports (only) should be sent to the chief of scoring at:
AIAA Design/Build/Fly
Contest/Report Judging
Tom Zickuhr
Cessna Aircraft Company
MS 178P
5701 E. Pawnee
Wichita, KS 67218
316-831-2810
316-206-6800 FAX
Aircraft Requirements - General
- The aircraft may be of any configuration except rotary wing or lighter-than-air.
- No payload may be carried internal to the wing
proper. Payload may be carried in external pods, or in a fuselage.
Payload in a "fuselage" may be carried in the area where the
wing carry-over structure passes. For blended-wing configurations,
the "fuselage" is defined to be the inner most 18" of
span, the remainder is "wing" for payload considerations.
- Must be propeller driven and electric powered with an unmodified, over the counter model electric motor. May use multiple motors and/or propellers. May be direct drive or with gear or belt reduction. For safety, each aircraft will use a commercially produced propeller. Teams may modify the propeller diameter by clipping the tip, and may paint the blades to balance the propeller. No other modifications to the propeller are allowed.
- All motors must be
from the Graupner or Astro Flight families of brushed electric motors.
Motors and batteries will be limited to a maximum of 40 Amp current draw
by means of a single 40 Amp fuse (per pack) in the line from the positive
terminal to the motor controller.
Only ATO or blade style plastic fuses may be used. ("Maxi" size Slow Blow, 1.15"x0.85". Available online www.Mcmaster.com part #7460K51 $1.66 each) - Must use over the counter NiCad batteries. For safety, battery packs must have shrink-wrap or other protection over all electrical contact points. The individual cells must be commercially available, and the manufacturers label must be readable (i.e. clear shrink wrap preferred). All battery disconnects must be "fully insulated" style connectors.
- Maximum battery pack weight is 5.0 lb. Battery pack must power propulsion and payload systems only. Radio Rx and servos MUST be on a separate battery pack. Batteries may not be changed or charged between sorties during a flight period.
- Aircraft and pilot must be AMA legal. This means that the aircraft TOGW (take-off gross weight with payload) must be less than 55 lb., and the pilot must be a member of the AMA. Since this is an AMA sanctioned event, the team must submit proof that the aircraft has been flown prior to the contest date (in flight photo) to the technical inspection team. The pilot need not be a student at the represented university. Contest supplied qualified pilots will be available to teams who require them.
- Teams will present a
completed and signed (by the teams faculty advisor) copy of their Rated
Aircraft Cost worksheet to the judges during technical inspection for
verification. The Rated Aircraft Cost assigned at the technical
inspection will be used for the competition and may not be modified
during the event.
Aircraft Requirements - Safety
All vehicles will undergo a safety inspection by a designated contest safety inspector prior to being allowed to make any competition or non-competition (i.e. practice) flight. All decisions of the safety inspector are final. Safety inspections will include the following as a minimum.
- Physical inspection of vehicle to insure structural integrity.
- Verify all components adequately secured to vehicle. Verify all fasteners tight and have either safety wire, locktite (fluid) or nylock nuts.
- Verify propeller structural and attachment integrity.
- Visual inspection of all electronic wiring to assure adequate wire gauges and connectors in use. Teams must notify inspector of expected maximum current draw for the propulsion system.
- Radio range check, motor off and motor on.
- Verify all controls move in the proper sense.
- Check general integrity of the payload system.
- Structural verification. All aircraft will be lifted with one lift point at each wing tip to verify adequate wing strength (this is "roughly" equivalent to a 2.5g load case) and to check for vehicle cg location. Teams must mark the expected empty and loaded cg locations on the exterior of the aircraft fuselage. Special provisions will be made at the time of the contest for aircraft whose cg does not fall within the wing tip chord. This test will be made with the aircraft filled to its maximum payload capacity by weight (Teams must inform the inspector and judges of their maximum design capacity and must make all flights within that capacity).
- Radio fail-safe check. All aircraft radios must have a fail-safe mode that is automatically selected during loss of transmit signal. The fail-safe will be demonstrated on the ground by switching off the transmit radio. During fail safe the aircraft receiver must select:
Throttle closed
Full up elevator
Full right rudder
Full right (or left) aileron
Full Flaps down (if so equipped)
The radio Fail Safe provisions will be
strictly enforced.
- All aircraft must have a mechanical motor arming system separate from the onboard radio Rx switch. This MUST be the contest specified "blade" style fuse. This device must be located so it is accessible by a crewmember standing ahead of the propeller(s) for pusher aircraft, and standing behind the propeller(s) for tractor aircraft (i.e. the crew member must not reach across the propeller plane to access the fuse). The "Safety Arming Device" will be in "Safe" mode for all payload changes. The aircraft Rx should always be powered on and the Tx throttle verified to be "closed" before activating the motor arming switch.
Mission Profile:
For the 2002 DBF contest, teams will fly three different mission tasks, in sequence, during a single flight period. A flight period will be the lesser of 10 minutes or the time required to complete all three mission tasks. Teams will have a total of 5 flight attempts. A flight attempt is defined as advancing the throttle for take-off. The best three Single Flight Scores will be summed for the team's Total Flight Score.
In the event that, due to time or facility limitations, it is not possible to allow all teams to have 5 flight attempts, the contest committee reserves the right to ration and/or schedule flights. The exact determination of how to ration flights will be made on the contest day based on the number of entries, weather, and field conditions.
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 *
Total Flight Score
Rated Aircraft Cost
|
Mission No. |
Description |
|
1 |
Position
|
|
2 |
Passenger
Delivery
|
|
3 |
Return
|
Single Flight Score is:
Total #laps flown + #balls carried on Passenger flight
Total Mission Time
"Total Mission Time" is the time from when the official calls "go" until the aircraft comes to a complete stop on the runway past the starting line at the completion of all laps. Aircraft must touch down ahead of the starting line, and can roll-out past the starting line. If an aircraft rolls off the runway, the ground crew may retrieve the aircraft and return it to the runway. In this case, the time ends when the "ground crew" returns to the staging "box" after placing the aircraft at the starting line. The ground crew may not leave the staging box to retrieve the aircraft until it has come to a complete stop as directed by the flight line judge.
For aircraft not completing the full compliment of laps, a penalty of 3 minutes will be added to the aircraft's measured "Total Mission Time" for each lap not completed. If the aircraft is in the air at the end of the 10 minute maximum time window, the lap in progress will be counted as a "not completed" lap.
For example, if an aircraft completes the "Position" and "Passenger" flights in 5 minutes, but is not able to complete takeoff for the "Return" flight, the "Total Mission Time" would be: 5 actual minutes + 2 incomplete laps @ 3 minutes each = 11 Minutes. If an aircraft has completed the "Position" and "Passenger" flights, and one of the two laps of the "Return" flight when the 10 minute flight window expires, the "Total Mission Time" would be: 10 actual minutes + 1 incomplete lap @ 3 minutes = 13 Minutes.
Payload Notes:
- Passenger "payload" is a varied number of specified size softballs. Balls MUST be an ASA Approved 12" .47cor Softball.
- No "Speed Loader" or other rapid-insertion container is allowed. Balls must be individually loaded/unloaded. Teams may use a "box" to carry the balls to the flight line, but nothing other than the balls themselves may be loaded into the aircraft.
- Balls may NOT be modified. They may not be taped, bolted, screwed or otherwise held together. Balls must be restrained inside the aircraft by a mechanical device. Tape may not be used as the "restraint" device, however Velcro is allowed provided it is not attached to the balls themselves.
Aircraft
Cost Model
Rated Aircraft Cost, $ (Thousands) = (A*MEW + B*REP + C*MFHR)/1000
|
Coef. |
Description |
Value |
|
A |
Manufacturers Empty Weight Multiplier |
$100 |
|
B |
Rated Engine Power Multiplier |
$1500 |
|
C |
Manufacturing Cost Multiplier |
$20 / hour |
|
MEW |
Manufacturers Empty Weight |
Actual airframe weight, lb., with all flight and propulsion batteries but without any payload Material Multiplier:*DELETED* |
|
REP |
Rated Engine Power |
(1+.25*(# engines-1)) * Total Battery Weight "Total Battery Weight" will be the weight of the propulsion battery pack(s) as determined by the judges scale during technical inspection. Total propulsion battery pack weight may not exceed 5 lbs., but may be lighter. |
|
MFHR |
Manufacturing Man Hours |
Prescribed assembly hours by WBS (Work Breakdown Structure). MFHR = S WBS hours WBS 1.0 Wing(s): 8 hr/ft. Wing Span Sum values for multiple wings WBS 2.0 Fuselage 10 hr/ft body maximum length WBS 3.0 Empenage 5 hr./Vertical Surface (Any vertical surface, including winglets, struts,
end plates, ventrals etc) with no active control A "V" tail is considered to be a Vertical surface without control (5 hr) plus a horizontal surface with controls (10 hr), for a total of 15 hrs. WBS 4.0 Flight Systems 5 hr./servo or motor controller WBS 5.0 Propulsion Systems 5 hr./engine |
Rated Aircraft Cost must be supplied when the aircraft enters the technical inspection. The RAC worksheet must be signed by the team advisor. RAC may not be changed during the competition unless it is determined by the contest officials to be inaccurate or inappropriate. The contest officials reserve the right to audit and revise the RAC for omissions or errors at any time.
General
Mission Specification and Notes:
· The contest requires multiple missions and sorties during each flight period; ground handling, take-off and landing are paramount design considerations.
· Each mission must be completed within a 10 minute flight period. The time to unload and reload the payload for the next sortie is part of the flight period.
· Aircraft may not have any work performed in the starting line queue. Aircraft propulsion batteries may be left out of the aircraft when in line. Teams will be given a maximum of 2 minutes to place their aircraft on the starting line and prepare for competition before the judges start the timed flight period. During the two minute period teams may install batteries and make any final adjustments. Aircraft not ready to fly at the end of the 2 minute period will go to the back of the flight queue.
· The aircraft propulsion system(s) must be disarmed or "safed" during all payload changes.
· Maximum flight support crew is: pilot, observer, and 3 ground crew. Only the designated ground crew may conduct the unloading/reloading. Pilot and observer may be members of the ground crew, provided total ground crew size remains 3 people.
· The upwind turn will be made after passing the upwind pylon. The downwind turn will be made after passing the downwind pylon. Upwind and downwind pylons will be 500 feet from the starting line. Aircraft must be "straight and level" when passing the pylon before initiating the turn.
· Aircraft must land on the paved portion of the runway. Aircraft may "run-off" the runway during roll-out.
· After landing, aircraft may taxi back to the starting line to unload their payload, and reload for the next sortie. Alternatively, aircraft may be carried back to the starting line, however the team may not leave the pit area to retrieve the aircraft until the aircraft has come to a complete stop, and they are signaled it is "Ok" to retrieve the aircraft by the flight line judge.
· Aircraft experiencing minor landing damage may be repaired and fly additional sorties within the flight period. Repairs must be made on the starting line, and may not begin until the payload has been unloaded. Repairs must be completed before the payload is reloaded for the next sortie. All team members may assist in repairs, only ground crew members may reload the aircraft.
· Aircraft will be considered to have only minor damage if they can be repaired and presented as flight worthy within 30 minutes of the end of that flight period. Aircraft with only minor damage will be credited with their full Single Flight Score.
· Aircraft which can be repaired during the competition, but not within 30 minutes of the flight period, will NOT be credited with a score for that flight period.
· Flight altitude must be sufficient for safe terrain clearance and low enough to maintain good visual contact with the aircraft. Decisions on safe flight altitude will be at the discretion of the flight line judges and all rulings will be final.
Additional information is included in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).
Protest
Procedures
Submitting a protest against a competing team is a serious matter and will be treated as such. Teams may submit a protest to the Contest Administrator at any time during the competition. Protests must be submitted in writing and signed by the team advisor (if present at the competition) or the team captain if a faculty advisor is not present. Protests will be posted for all teams to review.
If the protest is rejected, the submitting team(s) will forfeit one of their remaining flight attempts. If all flight attempts have been used, the team(s) will forfeit their lowest Single Flight score.
Protests and the appropriate penalty (ranging from a requirement to repeat a flight for minor infractions to disqualification from the contest for deliberate attempts to misinform officials or violate the contest rules) will be decided by the Contest Administrator and the Contest Director, in consultation with other Contest Officials. The decision of the Contest Administrator and Contest Director is final.
NEW for This Year
· The contest date is moved to the last weekend in April. This date removes the conflict with the PE exams, and is anticipated to become a new permanent date for the competition.
· Wing span limit is removed.
· The maximum current limit is modified. Fuse types are restricted. Fuses MUST be accessible from outside the aircraft and act as the "safeing" device.
· The cost formula is modified.
· Aircraft missions are revised.
· Report page limits and formats are modified.
· Addendum report requirement is deleted.
· Protest procedure is initiated and described.
Design Report:
Each team will submit a judged design report as outlined below. The submission date is contained in the schedule section of this document. Reports must be bound (simple spiral bindings are sufficient and preferred, 3-ring binders are not allowed). All information used for scoring must be in the outlined sections. Reports exceeding the total page limit will be scored as "1.0 of 100". Appendices may not be included.
All reports will be space and one half, 10 point Arial font. Tables will also be 10 point Arial font. Margins are 1" on all sides. All pages will be 8 1/2 x 11.
Absolute maximum page count for the report is 60 pages, including text, tables, and figures (cover/title page and table of contents is extra). Drawing package may not comprise more than 5 of the pages of the Proposal phase report page limit.
All figures must be either half (1/2) page or full (1) page format. No exceptions.
Please note that the judges will be using this
same report outline for evaluating reports. ALL items listed will be
expected to be present, easy to locate and identify and well documented in the
report for a maximum score.
Design Report-PROPOSAL PHASE
1. Executive
Summary: (5 points):
Provide a summary of the development of your design. This should be a narrative
description highlighting the major areas in the development process for your
final configuration and a broad description of the range of design alternatives
investigated. Include an overview of the design tools used for each phase of
the design development: conceptual design, preliminary design, and detailed
design.
2. Management
Summary (5 points):
Describe the architecture of the design team. Provide a list of design
personnel and assignment areas. Document the management structures used for
personnel assignments, schedule control, and configuration control. Include a
(single) milestone chart showing planned and actual timing of major elements of
the design process, including as a minimum the conceptual design stage,
preliminary design stage, detailed design stage, and report preparation
periods.
3. Conceptual
Design (25 points):
Document the alternative configuration concepts (e.g. biplane, canard, flying
wing, pusher -Vs tractor, number of engines etc.) investigated during the
conceptual design stage and the rationale for the overall level of technology
selected. Detail the design parameters investigated, and why each was felt to
be important. Describe and document the numerical figures of merit (FOM's) used
to screen competing concepts, and the mission feature each FOM was selected to
support. Include the values for Rated Aircraft Cost assigned to
each concept during the FOM screening process. Include a description of
significant assumptions made, and the methods used to validate them. Numerical
data need not be extensive at this stage, but should include as a minimum: a
final ranking chart giving the quantitative value of each design for each FOM;
the FOM importance factors or weighting; and an explanation of the features
that produced the final configuration selection.
4. Preliminary
Design (20 points):
Document the design parameter and sizing trades investigated during the
preliminary design stage, the design parameters investigated, and why each was
felt to be important. Describe the FOM's used and the mission or design feature
each FOM supports. Include a summary of the key features that distinguish the
final configuration including: determination of the required wing and power
loading to meet the mission; assumptions made and justification for their
validity; and a comparison of the results obtained in the Preliminary phase
with the assumptions used in the Conceptual phase.
5. Detail
Design (25 points for discussion items, 10 points for drawing package, 35
points total for the section):
Final performance data should be provided for the design including: take off
performance; handling qualities and g load capability; predicted mission
performance, and aircraft weight and balance worksheets. Document component
selection and systems architecture selected. Document your final competition
aircraft's Rated Aircraft Cost using the contest supplied cost
model. Describe the assumptions made and compare these to the values used for
the Conceptual and Preliminary design phases.
The Drawing Package will be included with this section and must contain as
a minimum a 3-view drawing of the design in sufficient detail to
indicate aircraft size and configuration; primary structure component size and location;
payload size, location and restraint method; and location of propulsion and
flight control system components.
6. Manufacturing
Plan and processes (10 points):
Document the process selected for manufacture of major components and
assemblies of the final design. Detail the manufacturing processes
investigated, and describe the FOM's used (including but not limited to:
availability, required skill levels and cost) to screen competing concepts.
Describe the analytic methods (cost, skill matrix, scheduling time lines) used
to select the final set of manufacturing processes. Include a manufacturing
milestone chart showing scheduled event timings.
Sample
of Judges Scoring Worksheet
|
Executive Summary |
Max |
|
|
|
Summary of development of the design |
5 |
|
|
Highlights major areas in the development process for final configuration |
|
|
|
Describes range of design alternatives investigated |
|
|
|
Overview of the design tools used in each phase |
|
|
|
Format, completeness, readability |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Management Summary |
|
|
|
|
Architecture of the design team |
5 |
|
|
List of design personnel and assignments areas |
|
|
|
Documents personnel assignments, schedule control, and configuration control |
|
|
|
Milestone chart showing planned and actual timing of major elements |
|
|
|
Format. Completeness, Readability |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Conceptual Design |
|
|
|
|
Documents alternative configuration concepts investigated |
25 |
|
|
Design parameters investigated and why important |
|
|
|
Figures of merit used, mission feature of each FOM |
|
|
|
Discussion of Rated Aircraft Cost for each concept |
|
|
|
Assumptions made and justification for their validity |
|
|
|
Final ranking chart of each design for each FOM |
|
|
|
Features that produced the final configuration selection |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preliminary Design |
|
|
|
|
Design parameters and sizing trades investigated and why important |
20 |
|
|
Figures of merit used, mission feature of each FOM |
|
|
|
Wing and Power loading requirements |
|
|
|
Assumptions made and justification for their validity |
|
|
|
Comparison of assumptions used with those from Conceptual phase |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Detail Design |
|
|
|
|
Performance data (takeoff, handling qualities, g-loads) |
35 |
|
|
Estimated mission performance |
|
|
|
Weight and Balance sheet |
|
|
|
Component selection and systems architecture |
|
|
|
RAC worksheet |
|
|
|
Assumptions made and justification for their validity |
|
|
|
Drawing package (3-view, dimensions, structure, systems layout) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manufacturing Plan |
|
|
|
|
Process selected for major component manufacture |
10 |
|
|
Manufacturing process investigated and FOM's used |
|
|
|
Analytic methods (cost, skill matrix, scheduling) |
|
|
|
Manufacturing milestones chart: plan and actual |
|
|
|
|
|
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