The 2011 Aero design team is well underway in completing their project.The team held a preliminary design review on October 21, where they presented their aircraft concept and preliminary design.  Since then, the team has been hard at work in finalizing their design, performing tests and analyses, and planning the construction phase of the project.

Test have been conducted to determine the required landing gear design and to verify component attachment points.  A 50% scale model of the aircraft has been constructed to use for flight testing to verify the stability of the aircraft.  Wind tunnel testing has also been conducted to test the aerodynamics of the 50% scale wing.

The team has created CAD models for every component of the aircraft, which have been assembled to obtain a detailed representation of the entire aircraft design.  This design was presented at a critical design review, which was held on November 22.

Currently, the team is finalizing design details and CAD models.  The construction phase is underway, and the team will be building jigs and fixtures for all major components.The team anticipates completing construction in early February, in order to allow time to adequately test their completed aircraft.

A student cutting aircraft components on a band saw

Students enjoying the UMSAE experience

Winter flight testing