Enlisting industry support for a flight controls design lab

Abstract

This paper provides a case study illustrating how industry support was obtained to build and equip a flight controls research and design laboratory. The key here was to form a talented team of students from many disciplines and to combine them with industry sponsors in a publicized engineering design competition. In this particular case the competition involved a year-long endeavor to build an autonomous flying vehicle for the First International Aerial Robotics Competition held in Atlanta, Georgia, during the summer of 1991. The interdisciplinary approach to design provided invaluable experience for students. They were challenged to work in a team with a cooperative spirit. From the conception to completion of the project, the students experienced both the exhilaration and frustration that accompany an actual open-ended engineering design project. The educational experience met all ABET guidelines for engineering design. The project has evolved into an enhancement of the Flight Controls Design Laboratory at Cal Poly to facilitate creative undergraduate experiments related to flight control design and test ing.