In June 2013, the unmanned aerial systems team took 3rd place at an event at Patuxent River, Md. The international competition featured 35 teams from the U.S., Canada, India and Turkey. The group is currently preparing for the Association Unmanned Vehicle System International, Students Unmanned Aerial System competition this upcoming June in St. Inigoes, Md and is in the process of building two new airframes, an antenna tracker for the wireless data link and a camera gimbal to be mounted in the aircraft. Faculty advisers for the team are Garth Thompson and Dale Schinstock, MNE.
Matt Roselli, ECE senior
The SAE formula car team members entered their car in the FSAE Michigan International Speedway Competition and placed 10th in the design category in May 2013. Powercat Motorsports again pushed the boundaries in this area by introducing several new design components. Their entry “Leopard” introduced a full composite monocoque chassis, a fully electric paddle shift system and wireless data acquisition.
The team races at many SCCA events in Salina and Wichita throughout the year. Team members Kyle Edwards, Ben Reedy and Eric Cunningham placed first, second and third, respectively, in overall points in the Salina region Sports Cars Club of America for the 2012-2013 season. Participating in these autocross events gives both older and younger members valuable driving and racing experience. This serves as testing time of car designs and prepares team members for our two main competitions. Faculty team adviser is Kevin Wanklyn, MNE instructor.
With a focus on both reliability and communication this year, the team has set high goals to achieve and has already started on their next entry “Jaquar.” Follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/powercatmotorsports to get all of the latest updates.
Gavin Harvey, MNE senior
The SAE aero design team placed 3rd overall in the 2013 SAE Aero West Regular Class event in Van Nuys, California, with their airplane “The Spirit of Manhattan”. They earned a total competition score of 255.61 points, a 3rd Place Plaque, and a cash award of $500. This 29.5 pound payload was a record for all previous team events.The competition involved 37 international teams and the team placed 2nd out of all the U.S. teams.The “Spirit of Manhattan” successfully lifted its designed payload, resulting in an additional 20 bonus points for the Kansas State University flight score. Faculty team adviser is Terry Beck, MNE professor.
In 2013, the SAE Baja team wrapped up the year by traveling to a competition in Cookeville, Tenn. where the team had many successful events. Highlights of the trip included scoring 15th place overall with 4th-place finishes in both the suspension/traction and maneuverability events. The team also finished 16th in cost evaluation, 19th in acceleration and 22nd in the four-hour endurance race.
With teamwork, engineering knowledge and dedication, the team and their car “Wildcat Off-Road” are looking forward to another successful year of competitions in El Paso, Texas April 24-27 and Pittsburg, Kan. May 22-25.
For more information about the Kansas State University Baja SAE team please visit them on Facebook at facebook.com/ksubajasae or contact vice president, Ethan Henry, ethanh@k-state.edu.
Dylan Kraus, MNE senior