Horizon - SAE Aero Design Micro Class 2020

Horizon designed, built, and flight tested the Venom-1 aircraft in preparation for the SAE West Competition. Horizon is a team of Saint Louis University (SLU) seniors pursuing degrees in Aerospace Engineering. Our aircraft had to be compact, lightweight, and deployed from a small package in a short timeframe. Overall, the strategy of our aircraft was to be as robust as possible and fly as many flight rounds as possible over a span of 2 days for competition. Our aircraft goal was to carry a maximum payload of three and a half (3.5), 12-inch PVC pipes and to have our aircraft fully assembled out of the box in 35 seconds or less. The aircraft had to be hand launched and fly 400 feet before making a turn to return to the launching location, where it would then land. Taking consideration of the payload, flight distance and assembly time motivated many of our design decisions for this aircraft. These design decisions included cambered wings of uniform thickness with ailerons, a 3D printed fuselage container, a carbon fiber boom, and an empennage composed of two vertical stabilizers and an elevator. In addition to these structural components, the aircraft was equipped with the necessary electronics including a lithium-ion battery and an electric motor.

The group would like to thank their faculty sponsor Raymond LeBeau for their support with this project.

Colin Thiele

Colin Thiele is currently a senior studying Aerospace Engineering, and will be graduating in May of 2020. Upon graduation he will begin working as a Flight Test Engineer on the T-7A Advanced Pilot Trainer with The Boeing Company in St. Louis. At Saint Louis University Colin serves the Vice President and Event Coordinator for the Parks College AIAA Board, and also officiates college basketball for the NCAA in multiple Division III conferences and Division II conferences. He enjoys traveling, and is an avid points and miles enthusiast.

Iliana Watson

Iliana Watson is a senior Aerospace Engineering student. She is the social media coordinator and head of propulsion for Horizon. In her free time she likes to serve as the Secretary of SLU’s AIAA chapter and she also enjoys playing flag football.

Rebecca Loiacono

Rebecca Loiacono is currently a senior studying Aerospace Engineering. She plans to stay in St. Louis after graduation to work as an engineer at The Boeing Company. She is currently looking forward to returning to the city to adopt a dog after staying with her large family in the country outside of Chicago.

Collin O'Brien

Collin O'Brien is a senior from Edwards, IL pursuing a degree in aerospace engineering. After graduation, he will begin working for The Boeing Company, in their Defense, Space and Security unit in St Louis as a Structural Design Engineer. While at SLU, Collin was the captain of the men’s swimming team where he broke three school records, was a 3-time Academic All-Conference Athlete, and an A-10 Champion in 2019.

Jiajun (Alex) Guo

Jiajun "Alex" Guo is a senior in Aerospace Engineering from China. Alex was the build lead for Horizon, and enjoyed his experience and the excellent opportunity to get involved in the design of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). He plans to apply for the graduate program to continue his in-depth study of aerodynamics, as he believes practice is the most effective way to test theoretical knowledge.