UBC AeroDesign
Help send UBC AeroDesign to the 2022 SAE Aero Design competition in Fort Worth, Texas!
Project Description
UBC AeroDesign is an engineering design team that designs and builds electric, radio-controlled airplanes. Our team strives to set students up to be assets in the professional engineering workforce, while uniting as a team to complete a common goal. This year, our diverse team of 55 members hopes to achieve 3 overarching missions:
- To provide a second classroom for students to learn how to work on a world-class engineering challenge,
- To place in Top 3 at competition, and
- To promote interest and knowledge in aerospace engineering across BC.
This year we will be designing two airplanes to attend two competitions – the SAE Aero Design Regular Class and Advanced Class Competitions. The Regular Class competition involves designing an electric-powered aircraft optimized to carry the most oversized cargo and payload. Its design process will teach students various aerospace engineering concepts such as airfoils analysis, flow simulation, finite element analysis, and manufacturing methods like laser-cutting and water-jet cutting.
The Advanced Class competition challenge simulates building an aircraft to help fight forest fires, inspired by the recent spike in forest fires over the summer. It involves building a carbon-fibre electric-powered airplane capable of carrying water and deploying a small autonomous glider during flight onto targets. It requires a diverse team with skills in mechanical design, systems engineering, computer engineering, and composites manufacturing.
Challenges and Impact of Your Support
We expect an increase in our competition expenses this year as we have to travel all the way to Fort Worth, Texas to compete in the SAE Aero Design competition series. In the team’s 30 year history, this competition will also be the first one where we will need to ship 2 main airplanes and 3-4 backup airplanes, leading to a significant increase in shipping costs. Additionally, this is the team’s first in-person competition after two years of virtual competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Without the support of crowdfunding donors and corporate sponsorship, our team will be unable to attend competitions.
About the UBC AeroDesign Team
Since 1992, our group of flight enthusiasts and aviation dreamers have relied on donors like you to realize our dreams of experiencing a world-class aviation project. We are one of the largest and most diverse engineering student teams on campus with 55 actively involved members spread across 7 different departments from first years to materials engineering to mechanical engineering. During the spring, the majority of our members are spending over 15 hours a week redesigning and manufacturing in time for competition. UBC AeroDesign fosters learning by creating a safe environment for students to develop and grow their skills. To get more information about the team behind this project, please visit www.ubcaerodesign.com
