Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, DC	August 1, 1998
(Phone: 202/358-1979)

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

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

Les Dorr
FAA Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/267-3461)

RELEASE: 98-140

NASA AND FAA ANNOUNCE DESIGN COMPETITION WINNERS 

NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced the
winners of the 1998 National General Aviation Design Competition. The
ceremony was held at AirVenture 98, the Experimental Aircraft
Association's Annual Convention and Fly-In at Oshkosh, WI.

Now in its fourth year, the competition involves individuals or teams of
undergraduate and graduate students from U.S. engineering schools
participating in a major national effort to rebuild the U.S. general
aviation sector. For the purpose of the contest, general aviation aircraft
are defined as single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft for two to six
passengers. In addressing design challenges for a small aircraft
transportation system, the competition seeks to raise student awareness of
the importance of general aviation and to stimulate breakthroughs in
technology that can be applied in the general aviation market. 

National goals for revitalizing the industry offer excellent, open-ended
design challenges with real world applications. University faculty
advisors consistently cite the value of this kind of educational
experience for their engineering students. 

The first place award was presented to a 27-member undergraduate team from
Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. Virginia Tech's winning design, dubbed
"VicTor," is a single engine, four seat, high performance aircraft. The
team's broad goal was "a fun-to-fly, safe, affordable aircraft prepared to
fly on the 'highway in the sky' of the twenty-first century." The sleek
airframe design features an ergonomic cockpit with adjustable side control
sticks and dual airbags, a choice between two high performance engines,
and advanced technology instrument displays. The design looks to the next
century by providing an upgrade option to allow autonomous flight if it
becomes a reality. The VicTor incorporates state-of-the-art manufacturing
techniques and advanced composite materials. The review panel of general
aviation experts was particularly impressed with the team's business plan
and production data.

The first place award provides a total of $3,000 to design team members
and a $5,000 award to the university's Department of Mechanical, Nuclear
and Aerospace Engineering. The team also won a separate $3,000 award for
the best use of technology developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Second place honors went to Pennsylvania State University in University
Park, for "Skipper 2," a high performance, two-person single-engine,
composite fuselage, tractor-prop light airplane. The low wing design
features a high-power engine and retractable landing gear. Other hallmarks
are a user-friendly, multifunctional display cockpit, good stall
characteristics and structural simplification for ease of manufacturing.
To enhance all-weather capability, the design also features a weeping wing
de-icing system, somewhat unusual for an airplane of this size.
Crash-worthiness was also a major consideration. The team offered design
variations for four-place, trainer and acrobatic versions of its aircraft.
The design was developed by a 15-student team as part of a senior level
design course. The second place award provides a prize of $2,000 to the
student team. 

Third place was awarded to a team of 13 undergraduate students from the
University of Virginia, Charlottesville. For third place, the student team
will share a $1,000 prize. The team was honored for developing a computer
program that predicts drag, or resistance to air flow, in the design of
new small passenger airplanes. One of the things that slows the
development of new aircraft is the need for extensive flight testing of a
prototype to determine the drag factors. The Virginia team recognized that
a computer program that could do much of the drag prediction in the design
phase would save time and money in the development of new and modified
airplanes, speeding effective new designs to the marketplace.

The competition is managed for NASA and the FAA by the Virginia Space
Grant Consortium. Guidelines are now available for the fifth annual
competition to be held during the 1998-99 academic year. New criteria
encourage both individual and team submissions, and designs ranging from
components and subsystems to complete aircraft designs. Guidelines can be
requested at 757/865-0726 or mls@penngrad.pgtt.odu.edu.