Dwayne Brown

Headquarters, Washington, DC August 1, 1997

(Phone: 202/358-1726)

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

Les Dorr
FAA Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/267-8521)

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

RELEASE: 97-164

NASA AND FAA ANNOUNCE AVIATION DESIGN COMPETITION WINNERS

Winners of the 1997 National General Aviation Design

Competition were named by NASA and the Federal Aviation
Administration today. The competition, which is in its third
year, allows university students to participate in a major
national effort to rebuild the U.S. general aviation sector.

NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin and FAA Acting

Administrator Barry Valentine presented the awards in a ceremony
at the Experimental Aircraft Association's Annual Convention and
Fly-In at Oshkosh, WI.

For the purpose of the contest, general aviation aircraft are

defined as single-pilot,
fixed-wing, single-engine, propeller-driven aircraft for two to
six passengers. Teams of undergraduate and graduate students from
U.S. engineering schools work with faculty advisors to address
design challenges for a small aircraft transportation system. The
competition seeks to raise student awareness of the value of
general aviation for business and personal use, while promoting an
understanding of its economic relevance. NASA and the FAA believe
that this kind of competition serves to stimulate breakthroughs in
technology and their application in the general aviation market.

The national goal for revitalizing the industry presents

excellent, open-ended design challenges that stimulate engineering
students and provide the basis for a quality, real-world
educational experience. Teams were asked to address design
challenges in one or more of the following technical areas:
Integrated cockpit systems; propulsion; noise and emissions;
integrated design and manufacturing; aerodynamics; operating
infrastructure; and new designs such as air-cars.

Students may consider designs for an entire aircraft or for a

system or subsystem. The first place award was presented to a
student team from the University of Kansas, Wichita State
University, and Kansas State University. The team�s design offers
a four-passenger, kit plane "for the pilot with limited
resources." The design claims payload, range, cruise velocity,
take-off and landing field lengths, rate of climb, and handling
qualities comparable to a Cessna 172R for about half the cost, or
$75,000.

The team calls its aircraft "Adagio" in honor of its

potential for graceful flight reminiscent of the adagio musical
movement of a symphony. The design uses a Zoche AeroDiesel Engine
Z0 02A and features an unusual, inverted "V" tail. The team
believes that its design can be built in about 200 hours, a
fraction of the time required for current kit planes. The short
assembly time for the Adagio is due to use of pre-assembled/pre-
fabricated structures. This approach would require a new
interpretation of FAA�s rule which requires an owner to build
and/or fabricate at least 50 percent of a kit-type plane.

This is the second time the Kansas team has garnered the
first place award in this prestigious and highly competitive
competiton. As the first place winner, design team members will
share a cash award of $3,000 while the participating unversity
departments will share a $5,000 cash award.

The second place award was presented to students from the

Department of Aerospace Engineering at Pennsylvania State
University, University Park. The design, dubbed "The Stingray,"
won praise from the review panel as a well-engineered aircraft
design with realistic costing. The panel cited the team for
excellent targeting of general aviation revitalization goals. The
design features a high-performance aircraft, with a high-power,
turbocharged engine and retractable landing gear. A low-wing,
pusher configuration is used, with advanced composite materials
offering lighter-weight and improved aerodynamic efficiency.
Crashworthiness, good stall characteristics, structural
simplification for ease of manufacturing, and a user-friendly,
multifunctional-display cockpit were also hallmarks of the award-
winning design. As the second place winner, team members will
share a cash award of $2,000.

The third place award was presented to a student design team

from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg. The team
will share a $1,000 cash award. This design is for a sport
utility aircraft named the "VenTure." A single-engine, propeller
diver, fixed-wing amphibious aircraft, the VenTure can take-off
and land on water and then taxi onto land, or land on standard
runways through the use of a hydraulic retraction landing gear
system. The energy-efficient and environmentally friendly
aircraft uses a powerful and light Aero-Diesel engine with record
low emission levels. The aircraft incorporates many design
elements that enhance safety and add passenger comfort.

A special award for Greatest Retrofit Potential was given to

Jennifer Wilson, a Princeton University student. The award was
given because Wilson�s design offered the greatest potential for
being retrofitted in currently operating general aviation
aircraft. Wilson, a senior and May graduate majoring in
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, received the $500 award,
which is sponsored by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
Air Safety Foundation. Wilson�s design presents innovative ideas
for simplication of cockpit instrumentation through the inclusion
of a head-up display as an approach to reducing pilot error.

The intuitive display drew praise from the competition�s

expert review panel for its simplicity and uncluttered
presentation of information using symbols that have universal
appeal, cross language barriers and minimize the use of numerical
data. Simple and effective visuals provide critical take-off and
landing data, situational awareness, engine/fuel information,
altitude data and stall warnings.

Wilson�s award is unique in that it is the first in the

competition ever given to a design submission by an individual.
All previous awards in the prestigious and highly competitive
competition have gone to student teams.

The National General Aviation Design Competition is

coordinated for NASA and the FAA by the Virginia Space Grant
Consortium. Guidelines for the fourth annual competition, to be
held during the 1997-1998 academic year, will be available from
the Consortium in August by calling 757/865-0726 or by E-mail
message to: msandy@pen.k12.va.us.

-end-