Jayhawk Heavy Lift Lands Top 10 Finish at National Competition

A team of University of Kansas aerospace engineering students flies away with a top 10 finish at a recent national flight competition. The Jayhawk Heavy Lift team landed 10th out of 74 teams competing in the Aero Design East competition, held April 29-May 1 in Marietta, Ga.

“The guys fought hard, and did well. We’re proud of them,” said Ron Barrett Gonzalez, project adviser and associate professor of aerospace engineering.

The team’s aircraft, known as Goed Genoeg II (which translates to “Good Enough” from Dutch), had a successful flight carrying 15.9 pounds, but trouble struck on an attempt to support a 25-pound cargo weight.

“The plane stalled on takeoff, bounced off the runway and clipped the prop. The plane continued to fly, but without power and had a hard landing, thanks to two loblolly pines,” Barrett Gonzalez said. “Overall, it was still a really good showing from the team.”

The University of Cincinnati brought home first place in the competition.

The KU team received $500 for finishing third out of 34 teams in the Aero Design West competition held in March in Fort Worth, Texas.