Mon, Jun 06, 2011
Student Teams Challenged To Design Most Efficient Wing
Possible
More than 125 students, faculty and volunteers from across
Kentucky participated in the 2011 Wing Design Competition sponsored
by the Kentucky Institute for Aerospace Education, NASA Kentucky,
and the University of Kentucky College of Engineering at RJ Corman
Railroad Group’s Lucas Field in Nicholasville, KY on May
24.
Photo Courtesy University of Kentucky College of
Engineering
The students representing 12 high
schools that comprise the KIAE assembled a remote-controlled
airplane ... without attaching the wing ... from kits their teams
received in January. The teams were instructed to design and build
a wing for the aircraft, based on teaching modules on aerodynamics
and stability written by faculty from the University of Kentucky
College of Engineering. Each team also submitted a 5-10 page paper
on the design of their wing. The winning design was determined by
the amount of weight the aircraft could carry with respect to the
weight of its wing. Teams experimented at the event by adding and
subtracting payload through innovations such as water bottles
filled with gravel and a weighted camera case placed on the bottom
of the plane.
Photo Courtesy University of Kentucky College of
Engineering
The team from Muhlenberg County High
School took home first-place honors. Second place went to Taylor
County High School and third place was awarded to Rowan County High
School. Monroe County High School received awards for “Most
Payload” and “Most Unique Wing,” while South
Warren High School won the “Aviator’s Award” and
Danville High School won “Best Color Scheme.”
“Students and facilitators that
participated in the Wing Design Challenge exhibited a keen sense of
purpose and persistence as they prepared and flew their aircraft
with wings designed by students,” said Tim Smith,
KIAE’s CEO. “The level of engagement was through the
roof. Student learning in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) was demonstrated with great depth through the
context of wing design.”
Photo Courtesy University of Kentucky College of
Engineering
The event, sponsored by a grant from
NASA’s Kentucky Space Grant Consortium, took place in
coordination with UK’s College of Engineering and R.J. Corman
Aviation Services. The event was modeled after the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ intercollegiate
Design/Build/Fly Competition.
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