Students from the University of Akron regularly enter the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Aero Design® Competition. The Aero Design Competition challenges engineering students to conceive, design, fabricate, and test a radio-controlled aircraft that can take off and land while carrying the maximum cargo. This gives students the opportunity to apply the knowledge learned in the classroom on a practical problem.
This year, Brian Czapor and his fellow students used our LabPro and 3-Axis Accelerometer to improve their airplane
design. The photo shows how the Accelerometer was oriented in the plane.
Prior to flight, the Accelerometer was zeroed. The data from a sample test
flight is shown here. The graphs show the results of inverted flight, a
vertical loop, and gliding to land.