Speedfest 2018

This past weekend was a large event for CEAT (OSU's College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology) called Speedfest. It has taken place every April since 2010 as an advanced competition to AIAA's Design Build Fly Competition. Previously, the entire event Friday and Saturday was dedicated to the two OSU teams, Orange Team and Black Team, although the competition is open to any other university team as well. This year was the first time another team outside of OSU even got an aircraft aloft with the University of Kentucky and Saint Louis University competing. There are also many high schools that fly small aircraft in a separate category of the competition.

It is an exciting weekend with hundreds of spectators in attendance, food trucks, and even the OSU President, Burns Hargis making an appearance at this event. It truly does showcase the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) Department in CEAT.

However, this year it got even more exciting because not only were there more university teams present, but the event coordinators also worked other MAE senior capstone projects into the weekend's schedule. The four other capstone teams (mine included) had tables with posters and our hardware on display. Attendees and spectators were able to speak with us, and it was exciting to talk about our project with people other than fellow classmates or faculty. We brought the 12' tall Spaceport America Cup rocket for display, and that helped generate interest as well.

Inspiring the next generation

Our Arsenal ft. Daylight Donuts

During Saturday's lunch break, they worked in a time that we brought a rocket out, and we launched it for all to see. Nick Foster and I gave some background on our team, the project, and what this flight would be like. It was our prototype rocket from the beginning of the semester, Everything Is Sticky, flying on an I500T. It went from 0-400mph in 1 second and made quite a bang when it took off. Flying to 3,000 feet, it was a great demo for the audience, and we hope it showed to those in attendance what else OSU MAE is involved with. The department head, Dr. Dan Fisher, came by and enthusiastically congratulated us on our progress throughout the semester. He even offered to buy us an M motor for our SA Cup rocket, so we'll definitely take him up on that offer. It was an exciting day, and I was overly pleased that the event staff wanted to include us in the program. I wrote them a thank-you email, and they've already invited us (rather, next year's capstone team) to do a similar launch in 2019.

The 2018 OSU Rocket Squad