USC AeroDesign Team Finishes in Top 5% at 2022 AIAA Competition

In extremely windy conditions in Wichita, Kansas, the 2021-2022 USC AeroDesign Team, advised by faculty advisers Charles Radovich (1st semester) and Saakar Byahut (2nd semester), completed three air and one ground mission in the AIAA Design/Build/Fly competition. Only 10 teams out of 97 that qualified completed all four missions. The USC ADT team placed 4th in the competition with its aircraft VaxSCinator in its first in-person competition in three years.
Said Byahut, “Despite the gap in the knowledge of the team, with the last in-person competition three years ago and with me as a new advisor, the team did really well. We have an excellent group of graduating seniors, but I was most impressed by how the sophomores stepped up when needed, put in the extra hard work and carried the team through. I have no doubt the team will perform stronger next year. Our pilot, Wyatt Sadler, was a wizard flying the aircraft as always, especially with the tricky wind conditions in Wichita that caused destructive crashes for about a third of the other teams’ aircraft. We also had three alumni advisors travel with us to Wichita, and their help to the students (and to me personally) are much appreciated.”
Among innovations in this vehicle, the group cite 3D-printed molds for composite fuselage and a vaccine deployment mechanism. The 2021-2022 AIAA DBF competition tasked teams to design, build and test an aircraft to deliver vaccination components. Missions included deployment of the aircraft, staging of vaccination syringes, and delivery of environmentally sensitive vaccine vial packages.

Published on June 29th, 2022

Last updated on June 29th, 2022


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