Manipal Institute of Technology

National Aeromodelling CompetitionProblem Statement

Contents

1 Overview 1

2 Aircraft Design 12.1 Design Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.2 Design Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

3 Technical Inspection 2

4 Flight Rounds 24.1 Flight Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.2 General Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.3 Flight Round 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.4 Flight Round 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

5 Scoring 55.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.2 Round 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.3 Round 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

6 Additional Information 6

7 Contact Details 6

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1 Overview

The objective of the competition is to design and fabricate a radio controlled aircraft thatconforms to the given constraints and is able to accomplish a set of maneuvers mentionedin the successive sections.

2 Aircraft Design

2.1 Design Constraints

1. A maximum Thrust-to-Weight ratio of 0.750.

2. Total wingspan not exceeding 150 cm.

3. Only electrical motors are allowed. IC engines and other forms of propulsion areprohibited.

4. Gyroscopic assistance is prohibited.

5. Capable of releasing payload mid-flight. The payload to be released will be providedto all teams and is of the following specifications.

(a) 5.2cm X 3cm X 0.3 cm cuboidal plate.

(b) 41g in weight.

2.2 Design Report

A design report detailing the design and build process of the aircraft must be draftedalong the following guidelines.

1. The report must contain specifications of the design and electronics with suitablejustification as to why they were chosen.

2. Photographs of the build process should be included.

3. The report must not exceed 10 pages.

4. The link for online submissions is given at the end of the document. A hard-copyof the report must be in hand on the day of the competition.

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3 Technical Inspection

1. All aircraft will be subjected to a technical inspection before being given flightclearance. The dimensions of the aircraft will be cross-checked with the designreport. Any deviations beyond 5% of the listed specifications will be penalized.

2. The thrust-to-weight ratio will be verified using a thrust testing setup (RacestarBrushless Motor Thrust Stand V3). Teams are required to have removable motormounts for the same. If the ratio limit is exceeded, teams will be given a choicebetween adding extra weight(at CG) and limiting their transmitter end-points tomaintain the required T/W ratio.

4 Flight Rounds

4.1 Flight Area

Figure 1: Total Area

The above image details the division of the total area into 3 zones, divided as follows.

1. Flight Area - All flight rounds of the competition will be conducted in this zone.It designates the permitted flight airspace.

2. Set-Up Area - Teams on standby will be situated in this zone. It contains areasfor aircraft repair and setup and other required amenities.

3. No-Fly Zone - This zone represents restricted airspace. Teams that exceed theboundaries of the flight zone and venture here will be penalized.

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4.2 General Rules

1. Teams will be notified when it is their turn to attempt a flight round. A 10 minuteaircraft setup time will be provided once the announcement has been made, duringwhich, one test flight may be conducted. Teams exceeding their allotted setup timewill be penalized.

2. Teams are allowed to exchange allotted flight slots at the cost of incurring penaltypoints.

3. Only the pilot and two members will be allowed to be present in the flying areaduring the flight rounds.

4. An official will be present with the pilot at all times during a round. In the event ofa safety hazard, the official will instruct the pilot to ground the aircraft, followingwhich the pilot must perform a landing immediately. Teams that contradict theofficial will be disqualified.

5. Two flight rounds will be conducted, the details of which are provided below.

4.3 Flight Round 1

Figure 2: Round 1 Course Outline

1. The team called to fly will be directed to the Take-off/Landing zone, marked above.The pilot may position himself at his discretion, but the aircraft must be launchedfrom within the Take-off/Landing zone.

2. The pilot must then fly through the sequence of poles in the given order, asillustrated. For example, pole 2, 3, 4 may not be attempted unless and until pole1 has been completed. Points will be alloted for each pole that is flown around.Additionally, the pilot may choose to fly through the limbo in the center for extrapoints. The limbo may be attempted as many times as desired.

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3. Once all obstacles have been completed, the pilot can attempt to land in thedesignated Take-off/Landing zone for bonus points. If a landing is conductedanywhere outside the zone, no points will be awarded.

4. All the above must be completed within a time limit of 5 minutes. Finishing aheadof time will result in bonus points while finishing after the time limit has beenexceeded will result in penalty points.

5. Each team will have only one attempt at the course. Once the aircraft is in the air,any return to the ground will be considered the end of the round for the concernedteam.

4.4 Flight Round 2

Figure 3: Round 2 Course Outline

1. Once all teams have attempted round 1, flight round 2 will commence. The basicstructure of flight round 2 is displayed in the above image.

2. The course consists of -

(a) 3 Gates, through which the pilot must perform an under-over-under maneuvreas illustrated.

(b) A target area made up of 3 concentric circles. These represent a payload-drop/landing zone.

3. The aircraft may be launched from anywhere within the flight zone but the pilotmust be stationed within the designated control area.

4. The pilot is allowed to attempt the obstacles in any desired order. The gates canbe attempted multiple times while the payload-drop and landing may be attemptedonly once.

5. The gates may be approached from either side but must be attempted in thesequence illustrated. The entire sequence of gates is not mandatory. For example,if the pilot flies under the first gate and chooses to forfeit the other two gates, heis allowed to do so. Similarly, if the first two gates are attempted and the third is

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forfeited, the team will be scored accordingly. However, if the entire sequence ofgates is completed, the team will be awarded bonus points along with the pointsawarded for passing through each gate.

6. The target area is scored for a payload-drop/landing. The awarded points decreaseas the payload-drop/landing is conducted further away from the center. Thepoint at which the payload/aircraft touches the ground will be considered for theallotment of points. A payload-drop/landing outside the target area will be awardedzero points.

7. The payload-drop and landing must be conducted in two separate attempts andnot simultaneously in a single attempt. Once the payload has been dropped, thepilot is allowed to resume flying the course. However, once a landing is conducted,the pilot will not be allowed to take-off again.

8. All the above must be completed within a time limit of 3 minutes. Any obstacle(including payload-drop/landing) attempted after the time limit has been exceededwill be valued at zero points. Each team will have only one attempt at the course.Once the aircraft is in the air, any return to the ground will be considered the endof the round for the concerned team.

5 Scoring

5.1 General

• Dimensional deviations above 5% from the design report, noted during the technicalinspection, will be penalized at -1 point per millimeter.

• Teams that would like to exchange their flight round slots may do so at the cost of20 points.

• Teams that exceed their setup time of 10 minutes will be penalized at -0.2 pointsper second extended.

5.2 Round 1

The round will be scored according to the following equation.

300 + (10 × n) + (15 ×m) − t (1)

where,

n - No. of poles successfully flown aroundm - No. of successful limbo attempts

t - Total time taken in second

Landing in the Take-off/Landing zone is worth an extra 15 points. If all poles have notbeen attempted at least once and a landing is conducted, the total score will default tozero.

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5.3 Round 2

• Each gate flown through will lead to an allotment of 10 points. If the entire sequenceof gates is completed in one attempt, an additional 20 points will be allotted.

• The payload-drop/landing zone is scored as mentioned below.

Circle PointsInner 100Middle 50Outer 20

6 Additional Information

1. Important Dates:

Event DateRegistration Deadline 26st September, 2018

Design Report Submission Deadline 29th September, 2018Competition Dates 3rd and 4th October, 2018

2. Cash Prize*:

• 1st Place - Rs. 50,000.

• 2nd Place - Rs. 25,000.

• 3rd Place - Rs. 10,000.

3. Venue: Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal.

4. The decisions of the judges and event organizers are final and will have to be abided by.

* Subject to change

7 Contact Details

Email: support@aeromit.in

For technical queries contact:

• Ullas U. Bhat: +91 9620312869

• Aaron D. Sequeira: +91 9731929194

For other queries contact:

• Shakti Habib: +91 8971187373

• Gautam R. Menon: +91 9961003851

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