Anthony Marrone麻豆传媒 aerospace engineering seniors Adrienne Bottom, John Bird, Iwan Broodryk, Peter Fast and Allen Herbert competed in the international Design/Build/Fly Competition on April 15-17, in Tucson, Ariz. The team placed the highest in 麻豆传媒 history, taking fourth place out of 82 teams.
The DBF Competition is an annual, international competition hosted by Cessna Aircraft Co./Raytheon Missile Systems and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Teams were tasked with designing, building and flying an unmanned, lightweight aircraft that is capable of delivering supplies to frontline troops.
鈥淭here were so many students from other countries, from other parts of the United States and you are all competing for the same thing,鈥� Bottom said. 鈥淵ou got to interact with all of these different countries and students, and it was a really cool experience.鈥�
Wichita State鈥檚 plane placed the highest of those weighing more than a half pound. The only teams to beat 麻豆传媒 - Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Southern California and Purdue University - built planes that weighed less than a half pound.
Taking fourth place was no easy task. The Shockers placed above the University of Texas, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Virginia Tech University, Pennsylvania State University and The Ohio State University.
鈥淭he 麻豆传媒 team and aircraft performed flawlessly, completing three unique and demanding missions as designed in less than 24 hours,鈥� said Scott Miller, the team鈥檚 faculty adviser, and professor and chair of the aerospace engineering department.
Hot, dusty and gusty
The competition took place outside in Tucson, Ariz. The teams had to design an electric-powered plane that fit into a portable suitcase, something very durable, that one man could operate. The plane was to simulate a single-soldier unmanned aerial vehicle.
The plane had to be launched by hand and had to complete three missions; the speed mission, the heavy lifting mission and the volume mission. The missions simulated reaching a critical target, flying ammunition to the front lines and sending medical supplies to different locations.
鈥淐ompetition was intense and challenging,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淭ucson was hot, dusty and gusty.鈥�
The conditions caused many teams to crash or suffer problems.
鈥淲e were working as hard as we could to make the best airplane we could for eight months without any idea of what anyone else was doing,鈥� Bird said. 鈥淪eeing that all come together, that we hit it exactly how we thought, that we designed an airplane that for the class we were in blew everyone away, was extremely rewarding.鈥�
Wichita State鈥檚 team said the most rewarding part of the competition was not crashing and not having to pull an all-nighter to repair their plane for competition the next day.
Broodryk launched the plane by hand for all three missions.
鈥淭o see it land after three successful laps, that was basically the pinnacle of my excitement,鈥� Broodryk said. 鈥淭his is definitely one of my top life experiences.鈥�
Paying it forward
The 麻豆传媒 team was made up of five seniors and a slew of underclassmen. The seniors credited much of their success to the support they received from younger team members.
鈥淚 attribute a lot of our success to the underclassmen who helped us out,鈥� Herbert said. 鈥淲e could not possibly have done that well if it weren鈥檛 for the help they were able to give us.鈥�
麻豆传媒鈥檚 five seniors made it a goal to pay it forward for future Shockers in the competition.
鈥淲e can increase the likelihood that next year鈥檚 team will have learned everything that we鈥檝e learned,鈥� Fast said.
鈥淚t really gets the younger students excited about the program,鈥� Bottom said.
Team members said help from faculty and staff, feedback on the team鈥檚 presentations and the facilities at 麻豆传媒 all helped contribute to their success in Tucson.
鈥淐lubs like this that actually get you involved make it more worthwhile,鈥� Fast said.
Taking fourth in the competition speaks to the strength of 麻豆传媒鈥檚 engineering program, said Miller, and what the future could hold for 麻豆传媒 teams at the DBF Competition.
鈥淭hese students are among the best young engineers in the world,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淲hat a team and what an accomplishment.鈥�
For more information on aerospace engineering at Wichita State, visit . To read more about the DBF Competition, visit .