Lab Challenges
Each year I give the students in my lab a challenge to solve an aeronautics problem they may not have seen before, or which may not have been solved before. I give them one week of paid leave to see what they can come up with.
2021 Steady_Periodic_LL.pdf2021: Steady-Period Lifting-Line Development
Can lifting-line theory be used to study the steady-periodic aerodynamics of flapping flight?
2022: Trajectory Optimization
How does an aircraft most efficiently navigate from point A to point B including effects of altitude, velocity, aircraft aerodynamics, and propulsion characteristics?
We don't currently offer a course on trajectory optimization, so this problem is foreign to most of my students.
2022-Trajectory Optimization.pdf2024_AeroLab_Challenge.pdf2024: PID Controller for an F-16
Learn the basics of PID controllers and how they are used to control aircraft