Our group is prompted to design a hover landing craft which can flow both on land and water. The hover landing craft was designed to suspend above the ground with the power of wind. We were expecting that the wind produced by the motor attached to the body would give it the power to move forward and hover landing. We put our ideas on the first sketch with one motor, one hole ( surrounding the motor ) and one body.

Originally, we made the first model using the hardboard. Different from the sketch, we added one more motor on the body, aimed to balance the force of rotation resulting from ONE motor. Two holes surrounding the motors run across the body  so that the air flowing in from the front would be able to change direction to the bottom. With the wish of getting more force to lift the craft at high speed, we designed two wings on the sides. What’s more, taking the ideas from the airplane, we also put vertical stabilizer and horizontal stabilizer at the end of the body. In this way, the craft is able to change its direction vertically and horizontally with the help of servos. Then, as you see the picture, it’s exactly our hardboard hover landing craft (without motors attached).

Our second iteration was somehow similar to the hardboard model. More specifically, for a further step we designed the holes which are assumed to be the most important part. We attached the motor to the thin wood material joined at the front of the hole. At the very beginning, we believed that a cylinder hole would be much better, regarding to the cool appearance and its function of air flowing. Apart from this, a cylindrical hole with a curve to change the air flow direction would lead to less power loss, serving as a constant and steady power source. To make it more flexible, we gave up the former design of a single, closed hole. We were expecting to take almost everything into control, including the wind flow. So, the board is bound to the first choice. With the board rotating around the axis attached to the end of the hole, we are able to control the air flow direction. As you can see from the 3-D model on Rhinoceros, when the circle shaped board rotates to the horizontal direction, all of the wind flows directly backward. In such a case, the craft is able to get one hundred percent of power in the forward direction. Otherwise, when the board closes, rotating to the vertical direction, all of the wind is re-direction to the bottom, runs through two holes under the body and finally hits the ground. With the back force from the ground, the hover landing is created. We used glue to join the foam board. All of the parts were created on laser-cutter instead of 3-D printer, thinking that the 3-D printed material would be much heavier. However, after testing , we found that even the full power is not enough for hover landing when the board closes so we had to change the design.

We searched the Internet for precedents and started to conduct our third iteration. We hoped to add an air bag at the bottom to gather the wind. To make the wind in the bag flow out in different directions we used cardboard slices to distribute the air flow to the holes cut into the bag. Considering from a realistic point instead of an ideal perspective, we left the horizontal stabilizer, remaining the vertical one while the HIGH speed was NOT what we had expected…so sad. We did the test again and it do hover landing however, it couldn't move forward. When the flap is half open, the hovercraft cannot make enough lift to fly forward.

In the end, here comes our final iteration. To fully use the wind power, we dropped the former complicated design. To decrease the whole weight, we applied foam board to serve as the body. Two big circles are cut on the hot wire cut according to the size of the propeller. We used two motors, the one facing totally downward and the other facing backward at a small angle. Two propellers are rotating in an opposite direction to counteract the rotation force given by the rotating propeller. In this way, the craft is able to hover landing and move forward, at a very high speed. To change the direction, we attach a vertical stabilizer controlled by a servo at the center of the hoverboard. We use laser cutter to get the motor mounting plates from thick wood in order to  attach the motors. All through the process of the project, we took the control of motors and servos with the program written on Arduino

Our goal for this studio was to create a flying object,and our group decided to create a flying manta ray ,a flying object which has the appearance and the movement of a manta ray. We would like to make it fly in the sky with the motion of flapping just like what a real manta does. After a long time brainstorming and giving up of several schemes, we designed the structure of our manta and used two propellers to make it fly. However, the result of the scheme to use two propeller to support it did not work well, our manta could not fly since the center of gravity is too keep forward. As the result, we change the strategy of using heavy motor to provide it energy,instead, we decide to make a manta kite.   

On the maiden flight of the manta ray, it crashed really hard. It was too heavy and nosedived right after take off. We are going to get rid of the motors and make it an all out glider. 

The objective of this program at Nuvu this year was to create a flying object that was reminiscent of something science-fiction. Inspired by numerous flying objects both real and fictitious, our group created a plane that had many components of a standard airplane, but also included free-spinning rotors on the wing tips and a forward swept mono-wing. The advantage of the rotors on the wing tips is that they catch the on-coming wind and thus create more lift, while also slowing the plane's speed. Although this solution is inefficient for the motor as it has to carry extra weight that has a fair amount of drag, it makes the plane easier to fly in a small area, such as the testing field. The convential tail allows for air to freely pass over the wings without disturbing the horizontal stabilizer and made the plane uncontrollable. The foam v-wings are reinforced with tape to prevent fracturing, and the skids prevent the propellor from hitting the ground during landing. 

We were prompted by a dandelion seed and a seed from the movie Avatar. After our brainstorm we had three strong ideas. Our ideas were matchbox rockets, a flying lantern, and a propellor.The next step was to prototype them. We thought of methods to produce lift. The first method we came up with was heat.

    Matchbox rockets were our first idea. We researched how to make them and gathered materials. We used matches, tin foil, and skewers. These flew well but went up and down very quickly. We tried to solve this problem by adding different parachutes, but these were too heavy and caused the rockets to never leave the ground. We decided to not include this in our final.

    The next idea we modeled was a miniature hot air balloon/floating lantern. After researching paper lanterns and hot air balloons it was time to model. We made many models using wax and rice paper, by hand and in Rhino. All of them either went down in flames or didn’t fly at all. After a few days of this idea we decided to try something else.

    Our final idea was propellers. We had one very powerful motor that we started with. After a tragic accident that resulted in injury and broken propellers we ditched the powerful motor. Instead we used four small motors taken from a quadcopter attached to a 3D printed frame. This model included fiber optic wires and LEDs. Although we ran into many problems such as too much weight, not enough LEDs, and issues printing, this ended up being our final.

    We then decided to add another component to our project. After experimenting with rice paper we decided to make a mobile with small rice paper models and LEDs. The idea was that these would be more closely related to our original idea and our flying model would fly through and around the mobile.

    After a lot of frustration, conflicting ideas, and compromise we are all happy with our final product.

    At the very beginning of this program, a standard remote-controlled plane that one could buy at a hobby shop seemed like it could be a toy to build. However, that notion was quickly lost during the early days of the design process. From designing a plane to building and testing it, it proved to be no easy feat, but rather a tiring, and sometimes frustrating process. Many designs and iterations later, the hard work paid off, and the product of this work ended successfully. 

 After two days of intense brainstorming, the threesome came up with an idea: a plane that could takeoff vertically and fly with free-spinning rotors on the ends of the wings (to increase lift and slow the plane when flying). To get further inspiration on how to actually carry out and build this plane, the group researched and found multiple real-life examples, including an auto-gryo helicopter/plane (the rotor on top produces lift, while the propellor in the back propels the plane forward), a model airplane with rotors on the wings, and a model plane launcher. The group chose the forward swept "mono-wing" for its aerodynamic advantage and aesthetic appearance. 

    In the early stages of prototyping, the wings were cut too small and long, which would not have functioned properly with the free-spinning rotor design. As a result, the wings were re-cut, and ultimately worked well with the rotors. 

For the rotors, one of the team members designed the mount to be both light and aerodynamic. After 3D printing the mounts and installing them onto the wing (along with the laser cut rotors), the plane began to take shape. Another team member designed the fuselage to house the battery, servos, and other necessary hardware. After laser cutting the body out of foam, the wings were too large to nestle on top, so a brief edit extended the fuselage and fit the wing snugly. 

    Originally, a T tail was chosen as the default tail for the plane. However, after testing the plane with it, the group decided that there was a possibility that air disturbance coming off the wing affected the elevator, and thus the plane would only fly uncontrollably. After switching the tail to a more convential one, the plane continued to fly vertically and then stall. However, the group saw improvement from the previous iteration. 

Before testing, the group added skids and wheels, both of which were violently ripped off when the plane plummeted towards the ground (during the first few tests). 

Although the future of this plane looked grim, the group prevailed, but that need for success came at a cost. In order for the plane to fly normally, it was essential to pull the wing rotors off. Seeing that design work unsuccessfully, the group only hoped for the best... and it eventually came. On the final day of testing, the group managed to pull off three successful flights where the plane banked, pitched, and peacefully landed on the ground. With all of the hard work, it was incredibly satisfying to see a scratch-built plane soar successfully. 

Our original idea was to make a ball that had wings and flew, similar to a Golden Snitch. In our prototype, we designed a ball with wings, with a propellor on the front. We had two prototypes, one with a circular body, and one with a decahedric body. What didn't really work about this design is how the plane would lift itself, because the propellor did not have the strength to pull the plane forward. 

Our next idea ditched the concept of a sphere and replaced it with a ducted fan. This worked a lot better than the previous idea. This new plane had a lot bigger wings, and was the first one to have a propellor and motor inside of it. The plane could not steer, as we did not install a rudder. The plane still could not carry itself, so we added a lot more in the final. 

Our final design is a similar 3D printed shell, but with a rudder, elevator and wings of stronger foam. The tail was a new addition to the aircraft, and the plane could now steer, and go up and down. The wings were much longer compared to the original ones, and made out of stronger foam.

Today we made a new design for the frame of the snitch. It is a thinner and lighter design that will give the snitch a higher chance of the motors lifting itself. This design also enhances a new motor mount that we laser cut and it will improve the stability of the craft. We also made several versions of the laser cut motor mount. The final design had to be screwed on and snapped in which makes the motor on a stable point where it can fly best. Jibreel also made some diagrams but we decided it would look cleaner and professional if we used illustrator. We put all the motors and propellers in so that it can be tested soon. It turns out that we couldn’t test during the regular day but it happened to be that we all could stay to try to get it running. We set up a different guide wire test by making the lines higher up. There happened to be 3A controllers so we had to look for the one that was paired. After a while we found the one that was connected and it still wouldn’t make it work. Finally we found out that the speed controller was put in the wrong way and now it worked. With David’s hand for support so it didn’t fly all over it was definitely flying and the test was a success! We also want the snitch to be able to turn so Chris donated a broken mini quadcopter motor. He gave us to. On the ends of the motor mount we also put a little hole on each side so the motor could go on. Today we made another step to the final flight with all the sensors working!