The Team
In order to best facilitate the multi-disciplinary collaboration vital to both competition performance and the training of the next generation of engineers, the Design Build Fly Team at the University of Washington is divided into six sub-teams. These teams act under the guidance of nine leads: six specialists and three coordinators/directors.
Each team offers members the opportunity to obtain experience in work of their individual fields of interest and manages a design step or subsystem(s) critical to the design and fabrication of an aircraft.
Structures Team
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Designs all load bearing components.
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Optimizes structural performance through FEA.
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Responsible for the build integration of all sub-components.
Aerodynamics Team
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Responsible for the external geometry of the aircraft.
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Runs Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations to predict aircraft performance.
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Compares wind tunnel data to predicted performance.
Media and Marketing Team
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Creates brand presence with digital media.
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Connects with companies for events such as recruitment.
Avionics & Propulsion Team
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Configures optimal propulsion system.
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Designs avionics suite for telemetry and data collection.
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Writes test flight programs for performance validation.
Manufacturing & Test Team
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Oversees manufacturing processes for plane assembly.
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Tests critical components for durability and performance.
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Performs design review of aircraft with an emphasis on manufacturability of components.
Business Team
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Responsible for budget, sponsorship, and purchasing.
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Manages the team fundraiser and social media.