Continuing Improvement:

1
Continuing Improvement the Unified Aerial
Competition Peter Young/MIT February 15,
2005
2
Overview

• The Unified Aerial Competition
• Background
• Reasons for change (Spring 2005)
• Conclusions

3
Background

• Unified Engineering
• Core engineering course, MIT sophomore students
• Annual class size 65
• 5 disciplines taught, 2 courses/term, Fall and
  Spring
• - Structures/Materials, Computers/Programming,
  Signals,
• Fluids/Propulsion, Systems
• Pedagogical features
• Active learning techniques
• Individual Infra-Red response transmitters
• Work in teams
• Hands on, heads on lab/workspace experiences

4
Unified Aerial Competition, background

• - Spring 1998 design/build/fly event initiated
  to provide a CDIO flight experience
• - Basic elements
• Fundamentals of aeronautics taught via lectures,
  problem sets
• Electric powered radio controlled airplanes used
  to provide concrete flight experiences with
  flights indoors
• Initial aircraft designs 100 original designs
• Extremely low of successful flights

5
UAC program evolution

• Event objectives initially tried
• Air-ground observation using small wireless
  cameras
• Maximum velocity difference, maximum vs. minimum
• Timed laps around pylons (pylon racing
• Timed out of a box assembly and flight
• Problems/issues
• Overcomplex tasks
• Minimal opportunities to flight-test and practice
• Very challenging piloting experience flying
  indoors
• Above event objectives subsequently discontinued!

6
Revised UAC performance criteria, Spring 2001

• Students event objective
• Modify a stock airplane design to achieve better
  performance through a combination of design,
  analysis, build, and test
• Key enabling features
• flight simulator training
• early success pre-assembled aircraft and
  radios for initial flight training
• students completion and flight of basic stock
  kit early in term
• subsequent design by redesign of stock kit.

7

Unmodified Dragonfly electric radio-control
aircraft
Solid Styrofoam wing, 1.2 m span
100 watt electric motor
Radio control equipment,rechargeable battery
8
New UAC flight objectives (2001)

• Explicit objective
• Modify the aircraft design for maximum endurance
  with a limited battery size (350 mah)
• Implicit objectives
• Design for minimum drag
• Minimize structural weight
• Optimize motor/propeller for minimum
• current drain
• Minimize influence of piloting skill
• flight duration important, not flight path

9
A typical modified UAC entry
CNC-cut foam wing, new wing planform and
different airfoil
Minimally modified fuselage
Resized tail surfaces
10
Spring 2005 UAC reasons for change

• Stronger linkages desired between curricular
  deliverables (problem sets) and final flight
  performance
• Final aircraft designs often not as analyzed
  designs
• Maximum flight time not robustly linked to
  design and analysis
• Flight time effectively the only performance
  metric
• Common syndrome end-of-term cut and try design
  changes

11
Spring 2005 UAC implementing change

• Problem sets redesigned to strengthen linkages
  between design processes and final product
• Configuration baselines to be established
• Baseline changes justified and documented
• Final flight objectives
• Unchanged maximum flight time with limited
  battery packs
• Digital flight recorders to be installed and
  flown
• Allows in-flight measurements of key parameters
• Engine speed, current drain, voltage, derived
  velocity

12
Unified Aerial Competition Summary

• Design/build/fly event formulated to merge
  classroom theory with teamwork, actual flying
  experiences
• 2001 revision to flight objectives substantial
  improvement
• 2005 revisions to pedagogy and flight procedures
• further improvements?
• to be reported in June!