Advanced R&D #1
Propellor Configuration
The concept of propellor configuration is a very interesting concept to our group. We feel that placing propellors in different locations can provide a very interesting effect on the performance of the AEV.
Original Design for the AEV
Final Design for the AEV
Test Results
10 seconds, 25% power for all trials
Test 1: Sample AEV Configuration, with standard black propellors.
243 inches traveled
Test 2: Sample AEV Configuration, with grey propellors
0 inches traveled
Test 3: Sample AEV configuration with one propellor in the front, and one in the back. Black propellors, and back wings flared out
350 inches traveled before being caught
Test 4: Two propellers in the front of the AEV, with wings flared out to the side
350 inches traveled before the AEV had to be caught
Test Notes
Our first combination we tried was moving the the wings of the device parallel to the rest of the AEV, and much wider. Instead of having the wings flare up in the back, we have them going straight out, a have the propellors overall spread much wider.
For our first test, we decided to go for 40% power, for 10 seconds, and observe how far down the track the AEV makes it
The first test went poorly, the AEV went flying down the track, and hit a bump, flew off, but was caught in mid air.
Next, we decided to try out a different set of propellors, to see if they would be any more effective.
The pulling system is working much better. We observed that almost all airplanes have front propellors.
The grey propellors are much less efficient than the black ones.
The back centered propellor was hitting the back wings, so we took out one of the back screws and flared the wings out slightly, so nothing would hit. When we tested it , we placed the propellor on backwards, and the AEV didn’t move.
AR&D 2- Track Variation
We decided to test 4 different tracks in the room. Starting with the two straight tracks, we determined that the back track was very consistent, and had considerably higher numbers than the front.
The first tests were used for testing the consistency of the device, and it overall had very good numbers. We then tested on the non straight tracks just to see how much of an impact the track had, and the impact was huge.
The slant of the test tracks was very noticeable.
Data for Tests:
AEV ran at 20% power for 4 seconds.
| Track Variance | Test 1 | Test 2 | Test 3 | Test 4 |
| Back Test Track | 153 inches | 153 inches | 153 inches | 153 inches |
| Back Test Track Closer To Front | 46 inches | 46 inches | 46 inches | 46 inches |
| Back Ruler Track Starting on | 64 inches | 64 inches | 64 inches | 64 inches |
| Front Ruler Track Starting on | 56 inches | 54 inches | 51 inches | 51 inches |