Michael Braukus

Headquarters, Washington, DC Aug. 2, 1999

(Phone: 202/358-1979)

Keith Henry
Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA
(Phone: 757/864-6120)

Mary Sandy
Virginia Space Grant Consortium
(Phone: 757/865-0726)

Tony Molinaro
FAA Great Lakes Region
(Phone: 847/294-7427)

RELEASE: 99-87

NASA AND FAA PICK STUDENT AIRCRAFT-DESIGN CONTEST WINNERS

A new jet design by students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical

University in Daytona Beach, FL, has won NASA's and the FAA's
1998-99 National General Aviation Design Competition.

NASA and the FAA presented awards to Embry-Riddle and four

other university teams at a ceremony held at AirVenture '99, the
Experimental Aircraft Association's Annual Convention and Fly-In
at Oshkosh, WI.

Thirty-three Embry-Riddle students worked on the design,

aimed at attracting customers who want to move from propeller-
driven craft to jets without needing a significant increase in
pilot skill. The New Piper Aircraft, Inc., assisted the team in
developing design specifications, which are consistent with
national goals to revitalize general aviation.

The review panel of general aviation experts rated the Embry-

Riddle design outstanding overall. The first-place award provides
$3,000 to design team members and a $5,000 award to the
university's Aerospace Engineering Department. Professor Charles
Eastlake was the team's faculty advisor.

Second place honors went to Pennsylvania State University in

University Park, PA, for "The Baracuda," an acronym for Boldly
Advanced and Refined Aircraft Concept Under Development for AGATE,
a national general aviation revitalization program. The plane is a
conventional layout, modern-composite airplane featuring advanced
aerodynamics, systems and avionics. A 13-member team designed the
a four-place, single-engine, jet-powered airplane as part of a
senior aircraft design course. The second place award provides a
$2000 prize to the student team. Professor Skip Smith was the
team's faculty advisor. Under his guidance, Penn State has placed
in each year of the competition.

Third place was awarded to a three-university team from the

University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA; Old Dominion
University in Hampton, VA; and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY.
The 21 students will share a $1,000 prize for a highly innovative
design known as the "Yeah Man," which has two tail booms with
vertical tails. Tested in the Full Scale Wind Tunnel at NASA
Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, the unusual design showed
good aerodynamic characteristics. Professors Jim McDaniel of the
University of Virginia, Colin Britcher of Old Dominion University
and Martin Skalski of Pratt Institute served as faculty advisors
to the team.

A team from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK,

captured the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's award for
Best Retrofit Potential. The three-student team, under the
guidance of faculty advisor Professor Karl Bergey, developed an
innovative approach to energy-absorbing seat design. The group's
design sought to show that the use of expanded metal can help
revitalize general aviation by meeting or exceeding the FAA's
requirements for energy absorption while saving weight and cost.
The team won a $500 prize from the association.

Now in its fifth year, the competition calls for individuals

or teams of undergraduate and graduate students from U.S.
engineering schools to participate in a major national effort to
rebuild the U.S. general aviation sector. The competition seeks to
raise students' awareness of the importance of general aviation
and to stimulate breakthroughs in technology and their application
in the general aviation market.

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium manages the competition

for NASA and the FAA. Guidelines for the 1999-2000 competition
can be found on the Internet at:

http://www.vsgc.odu.edu

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