Hello readers,

The final stretch is upon the Solar Airplane project and we are thrilled and motivated to finish the plane on time!

This past week, the aero team fabricated the fuselage foam pieces that were also sanded down and glued together. Several pieces needed to be cut individually because of the size of the machines and fuselage. The smoothened surface is for the fiberglass layer that will be applied after the glue is dried to help the mold solidify. By the middle of this coming week, the fuselage mold should be completed after all the pieces are put together and dried. Up next are the bulk heads that are placed at the front end of the plane that will be cut into the shape of the fuselage. The nose of the plane has went through a few iterations involving the placement of the motor, motor mount and various hole sizes for appropriate wiring. The design is now finalized and will be up for fabrication with the bulkheads.

Fabrication has been a challenge since our members are new to the project this year and only a few have respective training. It is a learning process for them, but they are pulling through and the final model is coming together slowly, but surely.

The flight controls system is undergoing testing as well involving the servos for the wing flaps, the motor speed controller, and camera. We recently discovered significant interference with the transmission and reception of some of the equipment and concluded that it was due to the numerous wireless systems on campus. Further testing will be needed in a large , secluded area which will occur sometime this week to determine if the equipment will be adequate.

Thanks for reading as always,
Blake Theilacker
btheilac@uci.edu