New Visions: STEM students inspect their plane before preparing for takeoff.
Questar III BOCES New Visions: STEM students ascended to new heights in a recent classroom project that took them outside their Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute classroom. Students played the role of government engineers, tasked with sending a passenger (an egg) on a test flight and returning safely. Not only did they need to send their passenger on a test flight, but they also needed to create the vessel.
Students spent approximately 8 weeks on the project before testing their RC airplanes. Watch as their planes take flight and hear from Hoosic Valley Center School District senior, Katrine Lestage.
During their design period, students needed to meet the following requirements:
- Maximum wingspan of 1 m
- Engineering teams to test their selected wing profile using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CDF) software. From this data, students determine their plane’s lift, drag, and L/D ratio at a test speed of 24 m/s (54 MPH)
- Students had access to a laser cutter, 3D printer, and hand tools.
- Teams were provided with all electronics necessary to operate the plane, including motor, propeller, servos, battery, electronic speed controller, RC receiver and RC transmitter. Teams were also provided with foam board to construct their plane.
- Other materials may be used with permission from the government representative (teacher) but must be provided by the students.
- The plane must accommodate at least 1 pilot (egg) and return safely, from takeoff to touchdown
- The designated pilot (student) must complete a minimum of 2 hours in the RC simulator
Congratulations to our students on a job well done!
Students from New Visions: STEM pose with their projects
