Small Aircraft Prototypes

The Aerospace Engineering department has, for years, made many small aircraft. Besides serving an educational function, the planes are used in competitions or as part of a class project.

Indeed, senior design students built and flew ten aircraft in 2010. The photographs below show eight teams who participated in the WSU Design/Validate/Compete (DVC) or AIAA DBF mission competition.

                    Team 40-Love (DVC)

 
                      Team AeroFuzz (DVC)

 
          Team Black Widow (DBF mission)

 
                Team Flight Machine (DVC)

                    Team High-Life (DVC)

                  Team Hostre Hiko (DVC)

 
                  Team Sharapova (DVC)

               Team W-Squared (DBF mission)

Here's a video of the 2010 flights:

2010 Wichita State University Aerospace Engineering Senior Design Aircraft Flight Video

Special thanks to the amazing 2010 test pilots: Stephen Dockery (DBF), Zach Hazen (DVC), and Jonathan Mowrey (DVC)!

Building and flying small aircraft takes the same skills and abilities needed for full-size efforts. All involved learn lots and have a blast.

There is nothing better that seeing your design built and flying!