2024/2025 MCR Class Plane

Overview

As a member of the UBC AeroDesign Micro Class team, I designed and developed the tail boom for Barbie, a conventional fuselage aircraft built for the 2024–2025 SAE Aero Design competition in Texas. The tail boom served as the primary structural link between the fuselage and empennage, requiring a lightweight design capable of withstanding aerodynamic and landing loads while maintaining stiffness and minimizing weight. To establish the initial geometry, I developed an automated engineering spreadsheet based on the aircraft design methods presented in General Aviation Aircraft Design by Snorri Guðmundsson. The tool calculated tail boom dimensions and stability parameters from a set of aircraft design inputs, allowing rapid iteration and evaluation of multiple configurations early in the design process. Using these results, I created detailed CAD models in SOLIDWORKS and performed finite element analyses under estimated flight loading conditions to optimize the structure. Simulation results were continuously compared with physical testing, allowing the design to be refined based on measured performance and structural behavior. I manufactured the tail boom using a combination of laser-cut balsa wood and plywood, carbon fiber reinforcement, Kevlar tension members, and 3D-printed components. We manufactured multiple aircraft to bring to competition, where we achieved 2nd place overall internationally.

Key Deliverables

• Designed and validated a lightweight tail boom using CAD, engineering calculations, and finite element analysis (FEA).
• Manufactured multiple aircraft structures using balsa wood, plywood, carbon fiber, Kevlar, 3D printing, and laser-cut components.
• Conducted physical structural testing to verify analytical predictions and inform design iterations.
• Manufactured multiple competition-ready aircraft for the 2025 SAE Aero Design Micro Class competition in Texas.