From the Computer into the Air - The Interdisciplinary Design Project Aerospace Engineering

Abstract

As part of the Interdisciplinary Design Project Aerospace Engineering, students design unmanned aerial systems for search and rescue missions. This includes preliminary design (e.g. aerodynamics), detailed design (e.g. autopilot design) and, so far, simulation-based verification of the overall concept. Now the design is to be brought from the computer into the air. For this purpose, the Chair of Flight Mechanics and Flight Control provides all electronic components (engines, flight computers, etc.). The aircraft structure is to be manufactured by the students themselves. For this purpose, they have a state-of-the-art laser cutter at their disposal, which the professorship received funding for within the framework of the call for proposals for teaching/learning projects of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. This allows the fast and efficient cutting of the structural parts in wooden construction. The self-built flight system is being evaluated in a flight test.