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Aryan Kashyap, Purdue University aerospace engineering junior, throws his team\u2019s plane into the air during the 10th Annual 3D Printed Aircraft Competition on July 11 at Maverick Stadium. Kashyap said he handled the electronics while building the plane.<\/p>\n
Photo by James Ward<\/a><\/p>\n Under the summer heat, student-made airplanes soared through the air, one larger than the others, in a blur of red and purple, flying low. The Tennessee Tech University Team, Eagleprint, hoped their engineering would carry them through the competition. <\/p>\n Surrounding teams clapped and cheered as they watched each flight, anticipating their own shot. <\/p>\n On Saturday, students from several universities competed alongside UTA students in UTA\u2019s 10th Annual 3D Printed Aircraft Competition at Maverick Stadium. <\/p>\n Each team, whether in the rotary-wing or fixed-wing category, completed three rounds a flight. Volunteering judges watched each flight for disqualifications and flight durations. <\/p>\n Robert Taylor, UTA professor of practice in mechanical and aerospace engineering, said the competition is often a senior capstone project for many engineering students. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very comprehensive design project, so they have a lot of freedom to go and pursue all of these different aspects of the design,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Alex Savage, Tennessee Tech University mechanical engineering graduate student, said the competition combines 3D printing and aircraft design, both parts of engineering he\u2019s interested in. For his second year in the competition, he is working as part of Team Eagleprint for the fixed-wing category. <\/p>\n Tennessee Tech University students work on their 3D printed aircraft, Eagleprint, during the 10th Annual 3D Printed Aircraft Competition on July 11 at Maverick Stadium. Teams were able to repair their planes after each flight.<\/p>\n Photo by James Ward<\/a><\/p>\n This year, Eagleprint faced challenges balancing its planes\u2019 design with its ability to stay in the air for a sustained amount of time. The team relied on test flying to work out issues with their planes. <\/p>\n \u201cThe test flights that we had, it behaved in ways we didn\u2019t understand,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it crashed. We had a lot of crashes.\u201d <\/p>\n Despite the challenges, Savage said 3D printing allowed the team to experiment with different design possibilities and structures than with typical manufacturing. <\/p>\n While Eagleprint focused on creating a lightweight aircraft, other competitors faced their own challenges. <\/p>\n \u201cWe only had about one and a half semesters to get this done, whereas other teams have two full semesters, so we\u2019re just keeping the design as simple as possible,\u201d Israel Fallad, UTA mechanical engineering senior, said. <\/p>\n Most members of Fallad\u2019s team weren\u2019t familiar with drones or the software needed to make the device work. <\/p>\n \u201cOnce we figured that out, the test flights were perfect,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, we couldn\u2019t ask for much more.\u201d <\/p>\n A judge watches a 3D printed aircraft fly during the 10th Annual 3D Printed Aircraft Competition on July 11 at Maverick Stadium. Teams from several universities built and designed their planes and drones.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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