Red Bull Flugtag - Portland 2015
How might one create a ‘human-powered craft’ to throw off a 30ft high pier carrying a person, be technical enough to fly, able to be built by unskilled labor, be more novel than our competitors, and minimize the environmental impact on disposal?
Annnd design and deliver it in 90 days.
Starting from a view of novelty we picked a o-wing or hoop design.
The R&D phase of the project was interesting. Given the time constraints on the project, I only modeled as much as was need to confirm and produce the part. Considering that the craft was symmetric I only designed half of it.
Iterate
First we set about building a prototype. Cardboard was an appropriate material for a prototype, but we also planned to use it in the final build, so this early build gave us some time to understand the material better.
The proto worked better than expected but it became clear that we needed more lift surface, and decided to add wings.
The Build…
Game Day!
In the end we were able to take home 3rd and be regarded as among the top eight designs never to be forgotten.
I’m very grateful to my team for accepting following my lead for the design/build part of the project! It never would have happened without their energy, ideas, and enthusiasm.
