The team AeroDesign Vultures is preparing to participate in another edition of SAE AeroDesign East, an international competition that will be held between April 21st and 23rd, 2017, at the Florida Air Museum, in the city of Lakeland, United States. With their place guaranteed after finishing runner-up in the regular class at the SAE Brazil Competition last November, the Unicamp student team spent their school holidays continuing the construction of the new plane for the competition.
Organized by the Society of Mobility Engineers (SAE International), the SAE AeroDesign East competition brings together 75 teams representing engineering educational institutions from Brazil, Poland, India, Egypt, Turkey, China, United States, Canada, Mexico and Venezuela. As the regulations for the international competition are different from the Brazilian stage, the team has been working on the new aircraft since November, and it is expected that the new aircraft will take flight by the beginning of March. “We arrived from the national competition on November 7th and started preparing for the world competition. In less than a month we built a prototype and have already flown to test the aircraft’s configuration and concept”, explains Taner Luis Rodrigues Junior, captain of the Urubus Team and fifth-year mechanical engineering student at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FEM).
Even during school holidays, members of Urubus Aerodesign are working in the team's workshop building the definitive plane. The expectation is that before March the prototype will perform the first shakedown in time to make the final adjustments for the competition. At SAE AeroDesign East, models must weigh up to 25 kilos with passengers and cargo simulated by tennis balls, and without geometric restrictions. The motors must be electric, supplied with just one battery, standardized by the event organization. And in the coming weeks, the team should send a report with the progress of building the prototype and its specifications.
Another challenge for the team is the search for sponsorships that contribute to the team's expenses, which range from building the plane to tickets and accommodation for the 18 members who must travel to the United States. The members of Urubus already have the support of the management of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Dean of Undergraduate Studies (PRG) at Unicamp, and other partners who collaborated with materials and parts. The team created a internet campaign, and other forms of support may also be welcome.
The team's track record in SAE AeroDesign East international competitions is encouraging. In two appearances, the Unicamp team obtained 6th place in the Regular class in 2014 and 4th place in the same class in the 2015 tournament.
Learn more:
Urubus AeroDesign team is runner-up in the 18th SAE Brasil Competition
Unicamp students build planes for the SAE Brasil AeroDesign Competition
