Chicken Wings or BUT placed seventh in the international competition of twenty-five student teams with their Obelix. That is how the students named their latest aircraft, which they designed and constructed for the international SAE Aero Design competition, which took place in mid-March in Lakeland, Florida.
"We call the aircraft Obelix because of the heavy weight of the cargo it was supposed to carry. The take-off weight was about 19 kilos, of which up to 9 kilograms were cargo," explains Adam Pilát, the head of the Chicken Wings student team, who is studying the Master's program Aerospace Technology at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. He recently returned from the United States with his team-mates and looks extremely happy. "Compared to our first participation in the SAE Aero Design competition three years ago, we have improved. At that time, we finished 12th in the Regular category, this year we came 7th. In the face of strong international competition, I consider this to be a very good result," Pilát praises.
As always, the team had to create a new aircraft according to the specified parameters. "One of the design limitations was the maximum engine power of 750 watts, which we had to adapt to the whole design in order to be able to take off on a short runway. Another limitation was the wingspan, we decided for a span at the upper limit of about 5.5 meters. At the same time, however, the rules were set in such a way that the largest dimension of each part of the aircraft could not exceed 120 centimeters. That came in handy as it compensated a bit for the disadvantage of overseas teams who, like us, transported their model by plane," Pilát explains.
How to even pack such an aircraft into an airplane? "In a complicated and cautious way," says the team boss with a laugh. "We fit it all into two plywood boxes. These need to be filled with polystyrene and foam fillings and then we needed a great deal of bubble wrap. Each part must be carefully packed to ensure absolutely zero movement of the cargo in the box. You probably know what loading and unloading luggage looks like at the airport," Pilate says.
Prague versus Brno
At the competition, the "chickens" from Brno met not only with international competition, but also with their sister team from the Czech Technical University in Prague. "It was established years ago when one of our members transferred to Prague. We have the same name, we are friends, but we have been separated for a long time and now there exists a healthy rivalry between us. I think it moves both teams to better performance," Pilát confirms the classic "Prague versus Brno" peak.
A similar healthy rivalry was going on between all the teams in Florida, he said. "The teams compete among themselves, but otherwise we all supported each other and helped or even consulted each other. There was a really great atmosphere and we learned a lot," says Pilát, adding that some of the design elements they saw in their rivals are planned to inspire their other aircraft.
The team will now take a short rest, then prepare for the next competition. There is no time to idle, as a completely new aircraft need to be made. And who knows, maybe Asterix will join Obelix. After all, he wore a winged helmet...