Ohio State University The Sloopy Works STUART (concept design)

(Image credit: The Sloopy Works)

STUART (concept design)
The Sloopy Works
Depart of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, USA
www.linkedin.com/company/the-sloopy-works-goaero

Founded in 1870, The Ohio State University is a public research university and is located in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The Sloopy Works is the university’s team name competing in the GoAERO Prize competition. The team is comprised of students in the Depart of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. In 1965, The McCoys had a #1 hit with the song “Hang On Sloopy.” It soon became the unofficial anthem of The Ohio State University marching band. This is why the team decided on their team name. The team won the GoAERO Stage 1 award in 2025 and was one of 14 NASA University Innovation Award winners. The team hope their efforts will also help the nascent advance air mobility (AAM) industry to gain more traction.

Dr. Kevin Disotell is the team lead and the team members include, Dr. Matthew McCrink, Spencer Berry, Alyssa Brucchieri, Varun Chitiveli, Aditya Chittari, Jude Gill, Leah Hall, Alex Holthouse, Waleed Jamshaid, Rachel Jarvis, Carson Nietert, Jace Park, Anthony Pisano, Arushi Sharma, Julia Taylor and Beibei Wang.

Jace Park, a senior aerospace engineering major and student president of The Sloopy Works states, " Recent events, including natural disasters and wars, have strengthened my resolve to help those in danger, whether by transporting cargo, essential supplies, or wounded individuals. We anticipate more wildfires around the globe, so we must be prepared.

Julia Taylor, who is a doctoral student in aerospace engineering working jointly with Ohio State’s Center for Automotive Research and Center for Aviation Studies, agrees with her teammate. She says that what excites her most about the GoAERO competition is “the prospect of seeing what you design come to life and then to show the potential of saving lives with it. I don’t think there’s much that can beat how cool aircraft are and especially to help vulnerable people.”

Small Transportable Uncrewed Aerial Rescue Technology (STUART) passenger hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft (concept design)
The Small Transportable Uncrewed Aerial Rescue Technology (STUART) is a passenger hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft. The aircraft will have autonomous piloting having the ability to conduct search and rescue in real-time and in extreme weather and emergency situations. One of the key features of the aircraft will be its ability to be rapidly assembled and deployed from a large flat-bed truck or large trailer.

While most of the specifications of the concept design aircraft is unknown, the aircraft will possibly hold four passengers in an enclosed cabin. The aircraft will have four independently controlled ducted fans, eight propellers, eight electric motors and is powered by a hybrid-electric power source. The fuselage is made from carbon fiber composite to give the aircraft a high strength to low weight ratio. The aircraft will have fixed quadricycle strut landing gear.

About the GoAERO Prize Competition
The GoAERO Prize, sponsored by Boeing, is a three year competition (2024-2027) offering over $2 million USD in prizes that challenges engineers worldwide to create portable, versatile and autonomy-enabled Emergency Response Aircraft that address not only everyday medical emergencies but also to be used in natural disasters, humanitarian emergencies and climate crises worldwide. Each team designs and builds autonomous Emergency Response aircraft capable of delivering a first responder, medical equipment and supplies and ultimately evacuating victims in need to a rescue ambulance or hospital.

More than 150 teams from around the globe are competing for the GoAero prizes. The GoFly and GoAERO prizes were developed by Boeing and other organizations to help the nascent advanced air mobility (AAM) industry move forward.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Rescue passenger hybrid-electric VTOL concept design aircraft
• Piloting: Autonomous
• Capacity: Possibly 4 people
• Cruise speed: Unknown
• Propellers: 4 ducted fans, 8 stacked contra-rotating propellers (2 coaxial contra-rotating propellers in each movable duct)
• Electric motors: 8 electric motors
• Power source: Hybrid-electric power source
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Windows: Front general aviation airplane type windows
• Landing gear: Fixed quadricycle strut landing gear
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) uses multiple propellers or electric ducted fans, each powered by electric motors, to increase safety through redundancy. If one or more components fail, the remaining ones can still ensure a safe landing. There are also redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft providing safety through redundancy. Having multiple redundant systems on any aircraft decreases having any single point of failure. 

Related Aircraft:

• Ohio State University The Sloopy Works STUART (technology demonstrator)

Company Insights:

• CB Insights
• Ohio State University Student Activities GoAero Sloopy Works

Resources:

• Ohio State University website
• Ohio State University, Depart of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering website
• The Sloopy Works YouTube
• The Sloopy Works LinkedIn
• Article: Autonomous rescue by sky, Ohio State University, Dec. 3, 2024
• Article: Stage 1 Winners, GoAero, Feb. 2025
• Article: Emergency rescue aircraft team at Ohio State wins NASA university innovation funding, Ohio State University, Depart of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Feb. 11, 2025
• Article: GoAERO Announces Eleven Stage 1 Winners, Aero News Network, Feb. 16, 2025
• Article: GoAERO Global Emergency Response Flyer Competition Announces $500,000 of Awards to Innovators Worldwide with Support from Boeing, NASA, RTX, and Honeywell, GoAero, Feb. 18, 2025
• Article: GoAERO Awards $500,000 to Stage 1 Teams, Vertiflite Magazine, Mar/Apr 2025