Over the past several months, I have been in the my last semester for obtaining my degree in aerospace engineering, and have had what I can only describe as an unusually bad chain of chain. For my senior design project, my team and I have were given the challenge of designing a 2nd stage to orbit spaceplane. Last year, we designed the aircraft, and did a small scale drop model to verify its stability. This semester, based on feedback from the industry panel at our presentation, we were asked to go bigger and better with the drop test model, and do a full simulated approach and landing test. So, over Christmas break, I designed and built a flight test model of our aircraft, that featured retractable landing gear, gear doors, and all-moving tail surfaces. Over 80 hours were put into construction of the model.
Then, I boxed it up and shipped it back to school. And UPS did quite a number on the model. The entire fuselage was cracked, and all internal formers had buckled. The box looked like someone hit it with a baseball bat. So, while taking senior design and 3 other classes and two labs, I rebuilt the flight test model over 2 months. Another 60 hrs spent trying to get it ready. The model was going to be carried aloft by a huge scratch built model we simply referred to as the pink plane. Just as I finished the model, the pink plane crashed in an unrelated incident, and it's fuselage, empennage and gear were completely destroyed. Since this airplane was the only plane on campus that was capable of lifting the model, I worked with the designer and pilot of the pink plane to rebuild it. We changed to twin tails, and rebuilt the airplane piece by piece over 2 months. Another 90 hours spent.
Finally, we maidened the plane last week, with great success, and were on schedule to do a captive carry test this Saturday the 16th. He and his freinds generously help me work on the mounting interface and release mechanism for the vehicles late into the night. Just as all seemed to be on schedule, someone's shirt snagged on my DX8 while they were working on the mount. It was pulled off the table, and completely shattered the gimbal for the right stick. I am now 2 weeks from graduation, and have given this project every ounce and penny I can muster. With the DX8 and parts for it being discontinued, it would seem that that is the end of that. Sorry for the long rant, but Murphy's law has really flexed its muscles against this project taking flight, and I just needed to vent.
Then, I boxed it up and shipped it back to school. And UPS did quite a number on the model. The entire fuselage was cracked, and all internal formers had buckled. The box looked like someone hit it with a baseball bat. So, while taking senior design and 3 other classes and two labs, I rebuilt the flight test model over 2 months. Another 60 hrs spent trying to get it ready. The model was going to be carried aloft by a huge scratch built model we simply referred to as the pink plane. Just as I finished the model, the pink plane crashed in an unrelated incident, and it's fuselage, empennage and gear were completely destroyed. Since this airplane was the only plane on campus that was capable of lifting the model, I worked with the designer and pilot of the pink plane to rebuild it. We changed to twin tails, and rebuilt the airplane piece by piece over 2 months. Another 90 hours spent.
Finally, we maidened the plane last week, with great success, and were on schedule to do a captive carry test this Saturday the 16th. He and his freinds generously help me work on the mounting interface and release mechanism for the vehicles late into the night. Just as all seemed to be on schedule, someone's shirt snagged on my DX8 while they were working on the mount. It was pulled off the table, and completely shattered the gimbal for the right stick. I am now 2 weeks from graduation, and have given this project every ounce and penny I can muster. With the DX8 and parts for it being discontinued, it would seem that that is the end of that. Sorry for the long rant, but Murphy's law has really flexed its muscles against this project taking flight, and I just needed to vent.
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