Concordia team takes off in Arizona
Quebec celebrated a milestone in April: A group of Concordia students became the first in the province to participate in the internationally renowned Cessna/Raytheon Missile Systems Student Design/Build/Fly competition, hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Even though the team (known as the Stingers for the event) was unfamiliar with the competition, they still bested nearly three-quarters of the pack.
This year’s event was held April 15 to 17 in sunny Tucson, Ariz., and brought together university talents from countries around the world including Italy, Slovenia, Turkey, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and beyond.
Concordia’s team became the first Canadian participants since 2005.
They were among the 82 teams put to the test in Tucson, proving their design, manufacturing and flight capabilities with electric-powered and radio-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles.
Under the dedicated supervision of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering professor Hoi Dick Ng, the Stingers (composed of seven students from the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science and the Concordia branch of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute) ensured their project conformed to the competition’s tight constraints.
After passing a meticulous inspection that eliminated half the teams, the aircraft (which weighs two pounds, has a 55” wingspan and fits into a standard 45” carry-on bag for transport) had to complete three missions:
- Complete as many laps of a complex flight course as possible in four minutes.
- Carry the heaviest steel bar possible.
- Carry as many golf balls as possible.
After completing five laps, carrying 0.99 kilograms of steel, and hauling 18 golf balls, Concordia’s airplane ranked 22nd.
Stinger captain Hadi Alaee was pleased with the result.
“Overall, the team’s performance in this year’s competition was perfect, considering we participated for the first time and we were the only Canadian team.”
“There were minor details we were not aware of, which could have made a big difference in our performance,” he says. “Still, I am happy with the results we got, and I am confident Concordia will do much better next year. Our team worked hard, and we couldn’t have done it without our supervisor, Dr. Ng.”
Related Links:
• Cessna/Raytheon Missile Systems Student Design/Build/Fly competition
• Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
• Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
• Concordia Chapter of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI)
• CASI Concordia YouTube channel
• Competition photo gallery on Flickr