2004 Rules and Vehicle Design
Note: Rules are “Draft” until 31 October 2003

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 1^st, $1500 for 2^nd and $1000 for 3^rd place. The winning teams will be invited to present their designs at the 2004 AIAA Flight Test & Evaluation conference.

Judging:

Students must design, document, fabricate, and demonstrate the aircraft they determine as best capable of achieving the highest score on the specified mission profile(s). Flight scores will be based on the demonstrated mission performance 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 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 at The Cessna Pawnee East Field at Wichita Kansas.

You can check on 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 student team members.

Schedule:

A completed electronic entry form is due to the contest administrator on or before 31 October 2003.

The entry form for the DBF is different than that used for all other AIAA student competitions. The DBF entry form is a MS-Word file and can be found on the contest web site. It must be submitted by e-mail to the contest administrator at gregory.s.page@nrl.navy.mil . Be sure to include the Phone and FAX number for your team advisor and at least one student contact so we may reach you in case of any last minute problems or changes. 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. It is the teams responsibility to make sure the e-mail contact addresses they supply remain active during the entire period from entry to the close of the competition, as e-mail will be the primary means to provide information and updates.

Please Note: the Entry Name may not be changed once the form is submitted, but must be retained and used in all reports and correspondence during the competition year.

Written reports (5 hard copies, electronic reports will not be accepted), are due to the contest administrator by COB 9 March 2004. Reports will be judged “as received”, no “corrections/additions/page changes” will be made by the organizers so check your reports carefully before sending them. COB is taken as 5 pm local time at the address provided for delivery of the written reports. Scores for the written reports will be announced at the beginning of the fly-off.

(A note primarily for foreign entrants but also allowed for domestic teams. If sending the report by courier is prohibitive you may send it electronically to a commercial printer (KINKO’s comes to mind) local to the report submission address and have them print/collate and DELIVER the reports to meet the deadline. No deadline exceptions will be made, but this may be easier than international courier service.)

The contest is scheduled for 23-25 April 2004. The competition will run from noon to 5PM on Friday, and 8AM to 5PM on Saturday and Sunday. Final awards will be presented at the end of Sunday's competition. All teams are encouraged to stay and attend the awards presentations on Sunday.

Please note that tech inspections will be available on Friday 23 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 a full set of scoring flights unless you are "ready to fly" at every opportunity.

Late entries will NOT be accepted. Late or incomplete report submissions will NOT be judged. Teams who do not submit the required written reports will NOT be allowed to fly. It is the teams responsibility to assure that all deadlines are met, as they will be strictly enforced.

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

Later in the academic year, the website will be moved to

http://www.ae.uiuc.edu/~aiaadbf

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
Kelly Laflin
Cessna Aircraft Company
Dept. 363 P
Cessna Aircraft Company
5800 East Pawnee
Wichita, KS 67218
316-831-2247

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 in the "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 9 inch of semi-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.
• All motors must be from the Graupner or Astro Flight families of brushed electric motors, only (motor should have manufacturers label visible to the judges during the technical inspection).
• 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. Commercial ducted fan units are allowed.
• Motors and batteries will be limited to a maximum of 40 Amp current draw by means of a 40 Amp fuse (per motor or pack) in the line from the positive battery 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 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. Contest supplied qualified pilots will be available to teams who require them.
• Teams will present a completed a 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.

1. Verify all components adequately secured to vehicle. Verify all fasteners tight and have either safety wire, locktite (fluid) or nylock nuts.
2. Verify propeller structural and attachment integrity.
3. 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.
4. Radio range check, motor off and motor on.
5. Verify all controls move in the proper sense.
6. 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. Both upright and inverted wing lift tests will be performed. 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.
• 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)

During Fail Safe the payload release system must NOT activate.

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 throttle verified to be "closed" before activating the motor arming switch. Fuses MUST be accessible from outside the aircraft and act as the "safeing" device.

Mission Profile:

Teams must complete the flight missions as outlined in the mission matrix below. Teams will have a maximum of 5 flight attempts. A flight attempt is defined as advancing the throttle “stick” for take-off. The best Single Flight Score from each of 2 different mission types 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 the maximum number of 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 Task Matrix

Mission	Description
	General Mission Information · Aircraft must fit in a 2-ft wide by 1-ft high by 4-ft long (interior dimensions) box. Note: The aircraft does not need to “fold” to fit in the box, but may employ “plug-in” joints for rapid assembly/disassembly. All electrical connections should be keyed so they cannot be misassembled. Tape may be used as a non-structural “latch” to hold components in place, such as taping a wing joint when using a plug-in spar arrangement to keep the wing from sliding loose. · Teams must select one of the following missions for each flight. Teams may select a different mission for each of their scoring flight attempts. · Take-off distance is 150 ft wheels off the runway. · On landing the aircraft must land on the runway (but may roll off) to obtain a score for that flight. · All payloads must be adequately secured using mechanical means. Tape and Velcro are not acceptable forms of restraint. · Maximum mission time is 10 minutes.
Fire Fight Heavy Lift/Slow Flight	Fire Bomber DF = 2.0 · Aircraft will begin the mission time empty. · The flight mission will consist of two sorties. (1) Aircraft will be loaded, take-off, dump its water load during the downwind leg, and return to land. (2) Aircraft will be reloaded, take-off, dump its water load during the downwind leg, and return to land. · Maximum allowed aircraft water capacity is 4 liters. (Aircraft will be emptied then filled to overflow during the tech inspection. Total volume must be 4 liters or less.) · Teams will load the aircraft during the mission from four 2-liter plastic “soda” bottles. Teams may use gravity loading or “pumped” loading. Soda bottles may NOT be pressurized to assist loading. · On all laps flown the aircraft must complete a single 360^o turn in the direction opposite of the base and final turns on the downwind leg of each lap. · Water may only be dumped during the downwind leg between the upwind and downwind turn markers/flags. Aircraft must fly slow enough to allow sufficient time for the water to be emptied. · Maximum dump orifice diameter is 0.5 inch. (Measured at the exit so it may be easily verified during the tech inspection). · The pilot must call “Dump On” and “Dump Off” so the observer judge can easily verify that the water dump is restricted to the downwind leg. · Early or Late water dumping, including inadvertent release of water during a hard landing, will incur a 3-min time penalty per occurrence. Excessive water spillage during loading will incur a 1-min time penalty per infraction. The flight line judge will notify the team of the penalty at the time of the infraction. Gross and/or deliberate spillage will disqualify the flight but will count as one of the teams’ flight attempts. A 3-min time penalty will be added if the aircraft is not empty on landing after the final lap. · A time penalty of 3 minutes will be added for an incomplete second lap. If the second lap is not attempted or the 360^o turn is not completed the second lap will be timed as “incomplete.” · The weight of the water will be determined by the starting and ending weight of the team’s ground-based storage “tanks,” taken when entering and leaving the flight box. · Single Flight Score is: DF * Lbs_Water / Mission_Time
Ferry High Speed Flight	Ferry DF = 1.0 · Aircraft must take-off, complete four laps, and land. The aircraft will have no water payload for this flight · On all laps flown the aircraft must complete a 360^o turn in the direction opposite of the base and final turns on the downwind leg of each lap. · Single Flight Score is: DF / Mission_time

"Mission Flight Time" is the time from when the official calls "go" until the aircraft comes to a complete stop PAST the starting line at the completion of all laps. Aircraft that run off the runway before reaching the start line may be carried to the line to end the time. Aircraft that are damaged may NOT be carried to the line to end the time, but will instead have the time end where the aircraft stops with the last lap scored as “incomplete.”

For aircraft not completing the full number of laps specified for a mission, a penalty of 3 minutes will be added to the aircraft's measured "Total Mission Time" for each lap not completed. For example, if an aircraft completes only 3 laps of a 4 lap mission in 5 minutes, the "Total Mission Time" would be: 5 minutes + 1 incomplete laps @ 3 minutes each = 8 minutes.

Aircraft Cost Model

Rated Aircraft Cost, $ (Thousands) = (A*MEW + B*REP + C*MFHR)/1000

Coef.	Description	Value
A	Manufacturers Empty Weight Multiplier	$300 (NEW)
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.
REP	Rated Engine Power	(1+.25*(# engines-1)) * Total Battery Weight [lbs] "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 lb, but it may be lighter.
MFHR	Manufacturing Man Hours	Prescribed assembly hours by WBS (Work Breakdown Structure). MFHR = S WBS hours WBS 1.0 Wing(s): (NEW) 10 hr/ft^2 Wing Span * Chord * # wings Wing Span is longest distance perpendicular to fuselage axis on any wing. Chord is maximum exposed wing chord on any wing. For a blended wing-body, exposed wing starts 9 inch out from the body centerline. 5 hr * control_function_multiplier ailerons = 1 flaperons = 1.5 ailerons + flaps = 2 ailerons + spoilers = 2 ailerons + flaps + spoilers = 3 WBS 2.0 Fuselage (NEW) 20 hr/ft^3 Body Length x Width x Height Length is maximum body length. Width is maximum body width. Height is maximum body height (does not include landing gear height). Maximum body width and maximum body height may occur at different fuselage locations. For a blended wing-body, body width is fixed at 18 inch. Note: Maximum length of the body is defined to be the longest longitudinal length possible to measure on the aircraft, and may include spinner and part of vertical or horizontal surfaces. WBS 3.0 Empennage 5 hr/Vertical Surface (Any vertical surface, including winglets, struts, end plates, ventral etc) with no active control 10 hr/Vertical Surface (Any vertical surface) with an active control 10 hr/Horizontal Surface. A horizontal surface is a "wing" if it is more than 25% of the span of the greatest span horizontal surface.) 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 hr. WBS 4.0 Flight Systems 5 hr/servo or motor controller WBS 5.0 (Deleted)

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:

· Aircraft are to remain assembled while waiting in the queue. Teams will install the propulsion batteries once reaching the 3^rd “On Deck” position (i.e. when the aircraft is 3^rd in the queue, the team must begin to install the batteries).

· Aircraft may not have any work performed in the starting line queue, other than as specified above at the 3^rd On Deck position. Aircraft propulsion batteries may be left out of the aircraft when in line.

· Aircraft batteries may be charged while the aircraft is in the queue IF AND ONLY IF the batteries are removed from the aircraft.

· The aircraft propulsion system(s) must be disarmed or "safed" during any time when crew members are preparing the aircraft.

· Maximum flight support crew is: pilot, observer, and 3 ground crew. Only the designated ground crew may reload the aircraft payload . Pilot and observer may be members of the ground crew, provided total ground crew size remains 3 people.

· Observer and all ground crew must be students. Only the pilot may be a non-student.

· 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 ft 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. 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 damage during landing will be considered to have completed their flight where they come to rest and my not be “carried” to the starting line to “complete” a lap.

· 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 that 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

· Inverted wing tip lift test was added

· Aircraft missions are revised.

· Missions have different difficulty factors applied.

· Aircraft must fit in a specified size shipping container, but assembly time is NOT part of the mission scoring.

· RAC formulas have been rescaled.

· 3-view drawing in report must be on an 11 x 17 inch page for easier reading by judges

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 of 100". Appendices may not be included.

All reports will be space and one half, 10-pt Arial font. Tables and figures will also be 10-pt Arial font. Margins are 1 inch on all sides. Report pages will be 8 1/2 x 11 inch with the exception of the drawing package. The drawing package may be 11 x 17 inch pages. The 3-view drawing must be on an 11 x 17 inch page.

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 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

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.

2. Management Summary (5 points):
Describe the organization of the design team. Provide a chart of design personnel and assignment areas. 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, flight testing and report preparation periods.

3. Conceptual Design (20 points):
Describe the key elements of the mission requirements (problem statement). 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 reason why each concept was considered. 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. Rated Aircraft Cost should be one of the FOM’s used during the screening process. 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.

4. Preliminary Design (30 points):
Document the design parameter and sizing trades investigated during the preliminary design stage, and why each was felt to be important to the mission. Describe the analysis methods used. Describe the mission model used and the predicted performance. Provide estimates of the aircraft lift, drag and stability characteristics. Document the design optimization and trade studies conducted and their results.

5. Detail Design (15 points for discussion items, 10 points for drawing package, 25 points total for the section):
Document component selection and systems architecture selection. Include your final competition aircraft's Rated Aircraft Cost using the contest supplied cost model. RAC table should include all input parameter, intermediate and final computation.

Include a table giving data for the sized aircraft. A copy of this table must be posted by the team at their “pit” area (poster board). The table should include;
Geometry: length, span, height, wing area, Aspect Ratio, control volumes
Performance: CL max, L/D max, maximum Rate of Climb, stall speed, maximum speed, take-off field length (two sets, empty and gross weight)
Weight Statement (airframe, propulsion system, control system, payload system, payload, empty weight, gross weight)
Systems (radio used, servos used, battery configuration used, motor used, propeller (nominal), gear ratio (if used)

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.

7. Testing Plan (5 points):
Detail testing objectives, schedules, check-lists, results and any lessons learned for component and full aircraft testing, both static and dynamic (ie. in flight).

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