FRCE worked closely with Craven Community College and North Carolina State University to hold the competition which took place at the Crystal Coast R.C. Club. According to FRCE Executive Director Mark Meno, the goal of hosting events like this is to inspire the next generation of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professionals.
“Supporting STEM education programs is an important part of our commitment to the community,” said Meno. “By volunteering their time supporting events like this, our engineers are sparking interest amongst area students in careers such as engineering and aviation. The engineers are also introducing students to the work we do at FRC East and the career opportunities available at the depot.”
Students representing Croatan, Havelock, West Carteret and West Craven high schools worked on designing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the competition. Engineers from FRCE volunteered to coach and assist each team throughout the process.
“Starting in January, we did a kickoff event for all the schools,” said Carli Starnes, a mechanical engineer with FRCE’s C-130 Fleet Support Team (FST). “We introduced our design challenge to them. During the rest of the semester, they built and designed their plans for our competition. Our engineers split up and assisted each school in preparing for the competition.”
Starnes said the competition would test the speed and maneuverability of the student’s UAVs. The goal was to build a craft that was faster than the other entries and able to outperform the competition when flying loop and roll maneuvers.
The students used simple, inexpensive materials found in craft stores and hobby shops to build their battery-powered UAVs. While this might sound like a far cry from the exotic components and high-powered engines the engineers work with at Fleet Readiness Center East, the results left many of the engineers impressed.
Elton Fairless, a senior engineer with FRCE’s Unmanned Aerial Systems FST, smiled when he watched Croatan High School’s entry complete the high speed testing phase.
“The high speed run is one of the requirements,” said Fairless. “We go downwind and put the throttle at full and see how fast it will go. They just went down the runway at 70 mph with basically nothing but foam you can get at the dollar store.”
Tyler Zobel, a student at Havelock High School, said the effort put into the design of the UAVs enabled the level of performance seen at the competition. He said his team conducted extensive testing on a number of design concepts.
“Originally, we thought the B-2 bomber looked pretty cool,” said Zobel. “We had done a blended body like an F-35 and we did the flying wing, like the B-2 bomber. We went with the B-2 because we did a bunch of models and a bunch of math. With the models, the flying wing went at least 11 feet further than the rest of them.”
According to Zobel, the FRCE engineers coaching his team provided invaluable assistance in solving complicated equations during the design process.
“The FRC engineers are some really smart people,” said Zobel. “I see them do math that looks like Greek letters. It's one of the coolest things, that they can just get that on a paper and solve it.”
In addition to problem solving skills and mathematics, Garlon Campbell, a student at Croatan High School, said the competition taught him the importance of collaboration and teamwork.
“I found out that there needs to be a lot of coordination and a lot of teamwork in engineering,” said Campbell. “It's never a one man job. You really have to have all hands on deck when you're designing a whole plane from the ground up.
“I learned that making planes is a tedious process but a very fulfilling one,” continued Campbell. “I think I’ve really found my passion in work like this.”
In addition to speed and maneuverability tests, judges also evaluated presentations given by each team explaining their design choices.
When the final points were tallied, the team from Croatan High School took top honors. Havelock High School took second place, followed by West Carteret in third and West Craven High School in fourth.
Although the teams had spent months working towards this day, Starnes described the competition as friendly.
“I always like the competition day because it brings all the schools together,” said Starnes. “Everyone seems to have a lot of fun. You get to see all their hard work show off and it's always fun to see the winner because they get so excited.”
Starnes, who grew up in the area, said she also enjoys the opportunity the competition provides to share her work at FRCE with members of the community.
“I actually graduated from West Carteret,” said Starnes. “I like the fact that this introduces local students and people to some of the things we do at FRC East. It shows them the career opportunities that are here. I also think it benefits and helps develop the engineering classes at the local high schools.”
FRCE’s participation in the Ultimate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Competition is just one facet of an extensive education and outreach effort. These engagements encompass activities ranging from deployment of STEM carts at local elementary schools to introducing students to science and technology careers utilizing a mobile fabrication space called the FABLAB.
FRCE is North Carolina's largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider, with more than 4,000 civilian, military and contract workers. Its annual revenue exceeds $1 billion. The depot provides service to the fleet while functioning as an integral part of the greater U.S. Navy; Naval Air Systems Command; and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers.
Learn more at www.navair.navy.mil/frce or https://www.facebook.com/FleetReadinessCenterEast.