7/11/2013 Susan Mumm
Written by Susan Mumm
Prof. Greg Elliott’s innovation and dedication in using aircraft design to introduce freshmen to aerospace engineering has been recognized with the 2013 College of Engineering Rose Award for Teaching Excellence.
The Rose Award, named for alumnus Scott Rose, who earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering in 1987, honors excellence in undergraduate teaching in the College. It especially recognizes innovative teaching methods and instructional programs that motivate freshmen and sophomore students to learn and appreciate engineering.
The AE Department’s effort a few years ago to boost hands-on experiences for lower-level undergraduates resulted in Elliott putting together AE 100AD Aircraft Design, with some help from Associate Prof. Michael Selig.
“(Prof. Elliott) put together a course that is truly unique in providing our freshmen students with a strong and exciting foundational course in aircraft performance and design,” said Department Head Philippe Geubelle. “He has taught the course four times so far, and, after undergoing multiple updates, the course is now well established in our curriculum, taught every fall to about 50 students, about half of our freshmen class.”
To aid their understanding of the classroom concepts of flight description (altitude, velocity, and pitching, yaw and roll angles); forces and moments acting on an airplane (lift, drag and thrust); control surfaces; propulsion; structure and aircraft stability, the students take a trip to a local remote-controlled aircraft field, where Elliott and others help the students fly radio-controlled (R/C) planes. The R/C planes are also equipped with onboard video to observe tufts on the wings for flow visualizations and instrumented with GPS, Pitot/static probes, accelerometers, and RPM optical tachometers. The in-flight data is then analyzed in classes to present aerodynamics and flight performance concepts.
The students also work in small teams to design and build a 2-foot-wide, remote-controlled electric flying wing made of Depron foam and reinforced with carbon fiber. Based on the aircraft stability concepts discussed in class, the students have to size the elevons used for both pitch and roll control, the vertical surface(s) for yaw stability, and distribute the weights of the battery, speed controller and actuators to achieve the right level of static stability for the airplane. This aspect is the most challenging part of the course for the students, who then spend a couple of hours manufacturing and assembling their designs.
Elliott dedicates his time to helping the students build their designs and conducting the test flights with the students.
“Prof. Elliott volunteered his piloting skills for many hours at the RC field and for the final flight, even showing up at some of the manufacturing labs to work with the students on some of the trickier steps with the teams,” said Geubelle, who helped teach the class this past fall. “Greg’s level of dedication for this course is a perfect illustration of his passion for teaching at the introductory level.”