Three Cal State Long Beach engineering students took second place in this year’s Society of Automotive Engineers International Aero Design East Competition with their self-designed and built micro plane.
The team, which consisted of senior David Algarin, graduate student Dan Dougherty and junior Adam Vore, had a winning design that bested competitors from Yale University, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico and the Warsaw University of Technology in the Micro Class Overall component of the competition.
“This significant achievement by our students is a testament to the quality of education in our college,” said Hamid Hefazi, the chairman of the mechanical and aerospace engineering department in a statement. “CSULB’s aerospace engineering program is at par with the best in the country.”
The group was judged on design, oral presentation and flight. All three scores together determined the winner. Flight scores were based on how much weight the plane could lift, and the oral presentation score was based on their 30-page design report.
The team’s model featured a “tailless” flying wing design, with a “belly flap” control surface underneath the wing for increased lift and faster takeoff. It was powered by an electric motor. The wing carried 2.5 pounds during its test flight, which was enough to receive the third-highest score in the micro class division.
Dougherty, who acted as team captain, began recruiting team members during the fall semester. What started off as 10 potential teammates turned into two. The plane’s design and construction took a year to complete.
“Most people could not make the big time commitment necessary to design and build the airplane,” Dougherty said.
In the end, the team was rewarded with $750 for the engineering department and a trophy. This was the second year CSULB participated in the contest.
“Students from all over the world have come up to me and mentioned that they’ve seen our design on YouTube,” Dougherty said.
SAE International was a three-day competition, which began on April 18 and lasted through April 20. It was the second of two yearly competitions, SAE Aero Design East and SAE Aero Design West. This was the first year the team competed in both competitions. The team received first-place honors during this year’s West competition in early April.
The competition was created to provide undergraduate and graduate engineering students with exercises that are the same as those they will face in the real world.
The mechanical and aerospace engineering department plans to continue participating in the competitions next year.
“This support is crucial – without it we could not afford to compete,” Dougherty said.