Abstract
The SAE Aerospace Design Competition Micro Division tasks students to design, test, and manufacture a compact, lightweight aircraft hat can lift a large percentage of its weight as cargo. SAE NAU does not have such an aircraft to compete in the competition. There are two main design criteria for the aircraft: the payload fraction and the length of the carrying case. The payload fraction needs to be maximized while the carrying case length must be minimized. The aircraft must be able to lift he payload and complete an aerial circuit and then land within a set landing zone without suffering significant damage or crashing. The aircraft must also be assembled within 90 seconds and hand-launched into the air. In order to ensure the design can accomplish these objectives it must be tested and evaluated in the field. This will be done either at he NAU football practice fields or the Flagstaff Flyers airfield. The scoring for the completion is separated into a written design report, an oral presentation, and the actual performance of the aircraft. In the past, the team that has designed their aircraft o lift he highest payload fraction has been the winner, thus this will be the main focus of the SAE NAU micro aircraft design. The next part of the design process is to begin generating and evaluating design concepts in order to determine the best design to proceed to prototyping, fabricating, and field testing.