Adam Herzog

As the high level systems engineer for this year’s SAE Aero team, I have been tasked with the exterior design layout of the plane. The first and foremost challenge was designing a main wing that would result in an optimal amount of lift. Increasing the lift can be done in two different ways. The first and most obvious is increasing the main wing’s surface area. The second and more in depth way is to increase the velocity of the plane down the runway and in the air. Since we are limited in the amount of propulsion, the main way of increasing the velocity is to decrease the total drag of the plane. This drag comes from the rolling resistance of the landing gear, pressure drag caused by the wing and fuselage, and lift induced drag caused by wing tip vortices around the main wing. A large challenge that past design teams have not been able to accomplish is determine how much of an impact this induced drag is relative to the other drag sources.

Designing the plane to fit within the dimensional limitations, given by the competition rules and regulations, while also trying to create an optimal plane design with a center of gravity in the correct location, has proven to be a very difficult challenge. Reducing the induced drag caused by the main wing involves creating a longer and thinner wing, increasing the overall width of the plane. Creating a plane with the center of gravity closer to the aerodynamic center of the wing results in a fuselage located further out front, increasing the length, or it results in a longer tail boom and smaller tail, increasing the length. Making sure that the tail doesn’t fall within the wash of the main wing as the plane takes off requires a higher tail that increases the height of the plane. Creating a landing gear with the ability to steer by remote control and include a dampening system that can ease the forces on the fuselage during landing will eat up space beneath the plane, increasing the height.

As you can see, there are many challenges that the team and I must face while also keeping the plane within the dimensional requirements given as well as maintain the center of gravity in the correct location.

Dima Yankova

I am the event coordinator for the SAE-AERO club at Union. I have helped with the organization of this year’s logo design contest by creating different kinds of promotion materials, such as posters, blurbs, and banners and popularizing the event on campus

Drew McCalmont

I have been involved with aviation and model aviation my entire life.  I am from Hollis, New Hampshire, and I am currently a sophomore (2016) at Union College studying physics.  This is my first year on the SAE Aero team. I offer my physics expertise to the team as well as coordinate public relations.  At the age of 16 with 18 hours of officially logged training at Sugarbush Airport in Warren, Vermont, I earned my student pilot’s certificate in a glider, meaning I soloed.  I am currently working towards obtaining my private pilot’s license for powered aircraft.  In addition to aviation, I enjoy running, skiing, and playing tennis in my spare time.

Evan States

Union College has had much success at competition over the past three years.  As the head of Controls and Auxiliaries, I hope to further our success at competition.  My responsibilities include determining the location of the servos and developing a method of powering them.  Furthermore, I am in charge of the designing and construction of all control surfaces and any linkages and hinges that control them.  I also will be in charge of designing the plane’s landing gear and the method by which the plane will be steered while taxiing.  The final major aspect to my senior project is maximizing the amount of thrust we can get by determining the best combination of motor and propeller.

Jess Silverman

Jessica joined Union’s SAE AERO club last year and is currently serving as treasurer. She is responsible for obtaining and allocating funds from Student Activities and the Mechanical Engineering department for design and event needs. She is majoring in Industrial Design and is a member of the Class of 2014.

Meg Sequino

Meg Sequino is a junior Mechanical Engineering student at Union College. She is currently serving as the acting president of the SAE Aero team. This is her third year involved with the team and her responsibilities span from organizing educational events on and off campus, working with the design team on creating the final competition design of the airplane and contacting alumni to gain valuable knowledge and resources. Outside of the engineering department, Meg is an avid hiker, rock climber and ice hockey fan.

Nick Garabedian

The challenges of building remote controlled (RC) airplanes represents similar challenges to the ones faced by the aviation industry. My responsibility on the team is to design a highly optimized airframe. To fulfill the requirements set by the SAE Aero rules, I was given the task of engineering a light airframe capable of carrying the highest possible payload.  Since the primary challenge of the SAE Aero competition is to fly with as much weight as possible, I am responsible, as a Structures Engineer, for creating an assembly that can withstand the take-off, flight, and landing conditions during the six rounds of the competition.

The anticipated result of my project is to compete at all rounds at the 2014 SAE East Aero Challenge without damage to the structure of the airplane. Accomplishing good results at the competition will once again prove that the students coming out of the Mechanical Engineering program at Union College are well-prepared to handle hard real-world challenges.

RJ Hojnacki

My name is RJ and I test propulsion, and finish the testbed.