PVC Plane

I designed this to be made from what I call “Home Depot materials”, materials that can easily be found, cheap and off the shelf. This includes materials like PVC, Mylar (the plastic found in kites), servomotors and other parts. It’ll be powered by a REB 90 from MGM Compro which costs around $9000, so the whole project should stay well under $25000-$30000 when batteries and R&D costs are included. I searched up he tensile strength of each PVC diameter so as to ensure that it can take the load, and it should, however I am a little concerned and will likely need to reinforce it with
steel wire. It’s an open cockpit design to keep weight low, so I designed the cockpit as simple as possible to minimize drag due to the instruments.

X-13 Paraclete

This is my first full jet aircraft powered by 4 Jetcat P500 Pros in the back of the aircraft. These put a combine thrust of 1958N and provides an approximate top speed of 140mph, with an 80mph takeoff speed. It doesn’t have a large range and has a decent speed, but considering it’s price being under $100000, I’d say it is satisfactory. I named it after the military naming scheme for their aircraft. The X signifies experimental because this is my first jet aircraft and it doesn't really fit in any other category, the 13 is because it sounded best, and the Paraclete nickname is because it looks like a bird. For the colors I just did Belen's colors.

Jet Man (My Take)

For this one I wanted to make my own version of Yves Rossy's famous Jet Man suit. It can fly for about 5 to 10 minutes at 140mph, which is decent. I also added an afterburner for a little extra power when desired which can increase top speed to almost 160mph. With regards to maneuverability, it is done by shifting weight and applying pressure on the handles closer to the ends. I like this design a lot, it is definitely one of my favorites despite its short flight time. It is powered by a Jetcat P1000 Pro and will cost around $40000. 

Steam-Powered Plane

This was designed to be a plane that runs on steam. The issue is water and the necessary heating components are too heavy, so I combined my efforts with those of a few AP Chemistry students and came up with a fuel system that uses Butane and Oxygen. These two gaseous products when combusted produce a good amount of water vapor and CO2 (which gets filtered out by a CO2 filter I found online) and then the remaining water vapor is heated, compressed and sent to the turbine which is 330HP. We decided on Butane because it has the highest ratio of Hydrogens to molecular weight, that is also feasible, to maximize water vapor made per pound of fuel. The result is a 425% weight savings on fuel. The best part of this fuel system is that it already provides what is needed to reheat and recompress the steam used to be reused. So this plane can theoretically run as long as the power lasts, and for this reason I have 26 kWh of batteries on board with the only electronics being avionics and the fuel system which have minimal electronics. The fuel system is a simple linear process. First the volume of butane and oxygen is measured out by volume in a small box controlled by a solenoid. Both products are then pumped to a combustion chamber where the CO2 and H2O are formed. The mixture is then pumped through a CO2 filter and then the remaining water vapor is heated and compressed and sent away. It is an open cockpit two-seater, made mostly of Carbon Fiber and Aluminum. I think this design is good, but I am definitely going to have to tweak and edit the fuel system should I try to make it, which always happens in development.

Aerial Transport Vehicle

I designed this after visiting UCF in a college tour, the tour guide explained that many people used electric scooters and skate boards to get around quickly. After hearing this I began to think, what if I had a "flying scooter" of sorts to get around? This started to me on a train of thought, that ended up at a quadcopter that is almost entirely mechanical. The goal of this design is to be low cost. Therefore the only bought items are the propellers, the scarce electronics, and the few gears. The frame itself is Aluminum oriented so that it can take the maximum loads easily. At the four corners are the mounts for the propellers. The propellers themselves are one meter in diameter and lightweight carbon fiber. There are 7.1 kWh of battery power providing 10-20 minutes of flight, which is enough for cross campus travel especially if there are places to recharge (and the tour guide said that there was). Even this won't be too difficult with a simple adaptor. The maneuvering is done using a bicycle gear changing system, whereby reducing the gear ratio, the rpm of the necessary propellers will be reduced and therefore reduce thrust for that propeller. For example, reducing the rpm of the two front propellers will cause it to pitch forward and move forward. Reducing the rpm of the sides will cause it to roll side and move there. Yaw can be achieved by reducing the rpm of diagonal propellers thus causing a net torque (idler gears ensure that two propellers always spin opposite ways). To achieve the gear changing, I plan on simply using the same trigger as found on the scrap bikes where I will also get the chain and sprocket system, as well as the seat. A pedal will control the throttle. The motor is hooked up to the propellers via a simple gear system, then the chain and sprocket system of the bike as aforementioned (though it will need an extension). There is a simple landing gear at the bottom. It is powered by a MGM Compro REB 90, it is expensive but there was no other way I could see. The total price is under $15000.

War Hawk Drone

I designed this drone with the American military in mind. Many times, at least in movies I've seen, it seems that troops need air support but its always several minutes away. I designed this to be a sort of on site air support for soldiers to take with them. The main concern therefore is portability and modularity. The UAV is designed to be 2 feet long, 7.5 inches tall and with a 3 foot wingspan. All the systems are compartmentalized, though they are close together. The propulsion is one Jet cat P200 RX with a thrust vectoring system similar to that of the F22 Raptor (actuated flaps redirecting exhaust). It has 50 lbf of thrust allowing for a minimum thrust to weight ratio of 0.65 and a top speed of almost 276 mph. Total weight is about 80 lbs. with approximately 40lb of drone weight and 38.61 lb of kerosene fuel reducing acceleration to 12.9 mph/s and a 67 mph take off speed. The armament is held in a container of 10x3 inches, which holds two side arms. The firing module can be edited to contain larger firearms so that any where from a Glock 17 to a .50 caliber Desert Eagle can in theory be fit in (I made it for a Glock 17 because it seemed like the ideal choice due to the lightweight quality provided by the Glock). A motor with a reciprocating box attached to a firing bar riding on rails is activated to fire the guns on the drone, providing a firing rate of a couple thousands rounds per minute. All casings are held in an adjacent storage container to prevent casings from moving around in the drone. Magazines can be added with upwards of 30 rounds should the drone need it. The aiming system is simple, there are two cameras in the top and bottom. The bottom ball camera is a "scout camera", it serves as the "eyes" of the drone keeping track of where it is going and searching for its targets. The top camera is the "targeting camera", the "crosshairs" of the drone. The camera is centered on the calculated spot in which the bullets would hit at a certain optimal distance and when that aligns with the target it fires. To maximize maneuverability, the elevons are at the farthest distance from the center of mass to increase roll rate. Furthermore the thrust vectoring well greatly increase pitch rate. Power is generated by an EX14-50 lightweight generator capable of producing 600 watts of power which is stored and distributed accordingly in a power system adjacent to it which also serves to balance the drone out, and is activated by the jet engine. All actuation is done by 20N servomotors which would be ample with a gear reduction. The drone would need to be controlled by a relatively narrow AI that simply carries out what it's ordered to do by soldiers on the ground, yet can learn flying and dogfighting techniques with information fed to it. Should it be irreparably damaged I would like to have a back up CPU system which allows for the drone to become a missile to eliminate targets. Its basic design is that of a blended-wing body format which allows for minimized weight. Launch would be from a magnetic levitating rail that carries the drone and launches it, ideally from the top of small unmanned tanks like the Ripsaw modified to carry the launch/landing rail as well as carry extra fuel, maintenance tools, and extra magazines. The drone is made of Carbon Fiber and composites to keep it lightweight. It has a 45.5 mile combat radius with 10 minutes of combat time to carry out a mission, which considering the fact that this is to be deployed right outside combat zones, this is more than adequate. With regards to controls, a touch screen interface linked via satellite can easily be set up, and there is plenty of space to add the required electronics. 

Tactically speaking, I believe this can be very useful. This UAV will allow soldiers to carry out detailed, on-site reconnaissance to asses a situation of unexpected threats. These drones can also serve as the preliminary offensive against a target, taking out enemy personnel and clearing a path for soldiers, or with a slightly more advanced AI, a system can be designed to allow it to work in tandem with soldiers on the ground. The maneuverability of this UAV will allow it to work in many environments so terrain shouldn't be an issue as long as it isn't an enclosed space like a dense forest or a cave. Ultimately it's a versatile tool that soldiers can use in a variety of ways to reduce their personal risk.

Flying Machine (My Take)

For this one I wanted to create a completely human powered aircraft. I have a bicycle-pedal design hooked up to a gear box and then a one and a quarter meter radius propeller. It is made of spruce (a wood often used in planes for its strength
and lightweight qualities). I used wooden I-beams to reduce weight and increase strength, and a spine made of what is essentially trussing. The main issue will likely be the power that the person pedaling can put out, this will likely need a redesign to make it lighter if it can be human powered at all. If anything, I can make it electrically aided during takeoff and have it essentially be an assisted glider.