• 24 Jun 2024 08:22 PM
• 0

Texas A&M University Wins eVTOL Drone Competition

(Top photo: Texas A&M University won the Society’s fourth annual DBVF Competition with a biplane tailsitter. All photos by Tori Arcilesi, SURVICE Engineering)

Texas A&M University won the Society’s fourth annual Design-Build-Vertical Flight (DBVF) Competition. University of Maryland took second place, and the Georgia Institute of Technology took third. VFS awarded teams a total of $5,500 in the competition, which was primarily underwritten by this year’s Gold Sponsor, Supernal, LLC.

This year’s DBVF student competition was a great success. Of the original 16 teams that entered the competition in October, nine teams persevered and flew a wide range of exotic aircraft designs at the culminating event in Churchville, Maryland, on Wednesday, April 10 through Friday, April 12. The competition required the university teams to complete several deliverables throughout the year, including a final technical report, an onsite team presentation, a manually piloted flight performance course and a fully autonomous flight course. The original 16 teams included universities across North America and Asia, though only US teams made it to the flyoff.

This annual electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) drone competition seeks to encourage interest in vertical flight, electric aviation, autonomy and uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) technology, as well as small air vehicle design and fabrication. The competition is designed to develop hands-on skills and familiarization with eVTOL technology at the university student level and prepare the next generation of engineers and leaders to push the limits of this exciting technology. More information on the teams and competition requirements can be found at www.vtol.org/fly.

SURVICE Engineering hosted the competition flyoff for the second year in a row at its Applied Technology Operation (ATO) at Harford County Airport in Churchville, Maryland. Student teams flew their custom-designed and hand-built drones in SURVICE’s flight operations area that it operates under a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA). The drones were limited to a takeoff weight of 20 lb (9 kg) and a maximum dimension of 10 ft (3 m).

All nine teams attending the in-person competition recorded flight time, with five of the teams meeting a significant number of the flyoff competition deliverables. Teams were required to manually pilot their aircraft over a rectangular course, performing a vertical takeoff and landing on each lap to simulate the real operation of these drones and test their vehicle’s efficiency in both hovering performance and cruise endurance. The autonomous attempt required the vehicle to take off, navigate the course and land, with the pilot’s hands off the control sticks. Four teams completed the autonomous course requirement.

The three days saw some harsh weather conditions. Winds at 20 mph (32 km/h) gusting to 40 mph (64 km/h) set the stage for multiple extreme crashes throughout the competition. Several of the teams bounced back after significant crashes, however, repairing their drones and getting back out on the flight line. Most of the teams pursued challenging eVTOL configurations, such as tailsitter aircraft, biplane tailsitters and even a wingtip tilt-propeller configuration. Strong winds on Thursday afternoon and a minor flight test incident resulted in the flight line being closed down. The event continued, however, with team presentations and a fantastic tour of the SURVICE operations.

Presenting teams had to work around the buzz of the adjacent, highly active runway. Various piston and turboprop aircraft were taking flight throughout the week, and even a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and a Bell 206 Jet Ranger making appearances.

Torrential rain Thursday evening spilled over into Friday morning. The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T), who had a tenuous fully autonomous landing the day prior, attempted to fly in the gale-like storm Friday morning. While the other teams hunkered down in the large tent with several thousand pounds of concrete blocks securing it firmly to the runway, the NC State Hover Hounds team covered the electronics of their quadcopter drone with a garbage bag to protect it from the elements for a successful flight. Several other teams squeezed in successful last-minute flights despite the unfavorable conditions.

For the overall competition scoring—which included the combined scores from the technical report, team presentations and flyoff performance—Texas A&M took home the first place prize and $2,750 (including $500 for best fly-off performance) with their impressive biplane tailsitter aircraft. The University of Maryland secured second place and $1,125 with a compact biplane tailsitter, and the Georgia Institute of Technology earned third place and $650 with a quadcopter design. The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University team flew its tilt-prop drone and received $500 for the best technical report.

SURVICE Engineering staff presented the “Best Crash” certificate to the University of Maryland for a nose-dive from a 100-ft (30-m) altitude, and “Best New Entrant” to NC A&T for their ingenuity and resilience in combatting the weather. The other teams competing in the flyoff were from Auburn University with a lift-plus-cruise design, Case Western Reserve University with a tailsitter, Cooper Union for Advancement of Science & Art with a quadcopter and Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology with a lift-plus-cruise design.

In addition to SURVICE Engineering, which hosted the event and helped run the competition, Supernal was the Gold Sponsor, contributing $5,000, and Ansys made its simulation software available to the teams. Supernal employees attended the competition on all days and interacted with students, giving them advice on the competition, the AAM industry and career opportunities.

“We would like to thank the many volunteers that help throughout the year to pull off the event, as well as the several reviewers, judges and SURVICE staff, who provided teams with feedback on their deliverables and the opportunity to fly their aircraft competitively at the culminating event,” said Dr. Jason K. Cornelius of NASA Ames Research Center, who has volunteered as the VFS DBVF Program Director since inception. “Overall, the 4th Annual VFS DBVF competition was a monumental success, with teams working together to help each other overcome setbacks and push their aircraft to the limits. VFS looks forward to the 5th Annual DBVF competition, and for new university teams and supporters from around the world to join in on the fun.”

An album of photos from the event taken by SURVICE Engineering is available in the VFS Vertical Flight Photo Gallery at
www.gallery.vtol.org/albums.