April 19-21,  2013

Hosted By:

University Multispectral Labs (UML), Oklahoma State University, NASA OK Space Grant Consortium, Zivko Aeronautics, Spirit AeroSystems, AUVSI
Summary
Pictures
Video
Thank You
Main Speedfest Website

Summary
Speedfest is an exciting, high-speed aircraft competition which is intended to foster enthusiasm for aviation and unmanned aircraft design, and was created in 2011 with Speedfest I.

Speedfest III featured two racing classes: Alpha (Advanced) Class which is open to collegiate teams, and India (Invitational) class, which is open to high school teams.  A total of 14 teams competed in Speedfest II, including well over 150 students and teachers.  Speedfest III also featured demonstrational flights including: aerobatics of helicopters and airplanes, giant scale airplane aerobatics, A vertical takeoff demonstration of the Speedfest II Alpha class winner, and flyovers of several manned aircraft.  The official gate count for Speedfest II was over 800 people.

Alpha class teams developed electric-powered airplanes that were optimized for two missions:  A cruise mission which tested the airplane's efficiency, and a "tag and dash" mission where the airplanes would drop 40 paintballs on a target and then fly an out and back pattern as fast as possible.  Top speeds approached 210 mph, with g-loads in the turns of over 40.   All of the Alpha class teams completed all missions in Speedfest III, and all of the planes were competitive.  Standings for the Alpha Class teams were as follows:

Final Standings for Alpha Class:
  1. Oklahoma State Universtity Black
  2. Oklahoma State University Orange
  3. University of Dayton Aero Design
India Class teams were challenged with the fabrication of a "Dazzler" airplane kit with a .46 cubic inch, 2-stroke engine.  The planes flew head-to-head in heats of up to 3 planes at a time.  16 teams entered Speedfest in the India class, and 11 scored.  Competition was close, with the top score being a 14, and the lowest score a 12.  GCTC Skyraiders took an uncontested lead of 14 flags for first place.  Close behind, the Yukon Millers, GCTC Right Flyers, and GPTC Frigates tied for second with 13 flags, requireing a head-to-head flyoff.  The remaining 7 teams tied for 5th place with a score of 12 each.  The fact that all teams that attended flew successful missions and scored so well, indicates the quality of the teams and airplanes that competed in Speedfest III.

Final Standings for India Class:

  1. Gordon Cooper Tech Center, Skyraiders
  2. Yukon High School, Millers
  3. Gordon Cooper Tech Center, Right Flyers
  4. Great Plains Tech Center, Frigates
The following teams tied for 5th place:

Claremore High School, Zebras
Meridian Tech Center, Pegasus
Choctaw High School, Choctaw E&T
Francis Tuttle Tech, FT Falcons
Northeast Tech Center, Rattlers
Drumright High School, Tornadoes
Harding Charter Prep, Harding Prep.

New for 2013, India teams could compete for additional awards.  Judges consisted of aerospace engineering students from the OSU student chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.  Pictures of the teams and planes can be found in the "Pictures" section.  The following are the results:

Most Heat Wins Champion:  Yukon Millers.  The Yukon Millers won the overall score award.  In every heat they competed, they scored 13 flags.  This was a remarkable achievement in consistency.

Best Airplane Build:  Yukon Millers.  Quality of construction was judged by technical inspection judges.  The Yukon Millers team airplane was well built, and well convered.  It also included innovative features such as wheel pants, gear fairings, and a streamlined engine cowl.

Best Airplane Graphics:  Great Plains Tech Center, Frigates.  For the second year in a row, the Frigates had a stunning covering and graphics job.  In 2012, the airplane was done in a Coast Guard theme.  For 2013, the team chose a yellow race theme.

Team Spirit:  Meridian Tech Center, Pegasus.  The judges felt that the Pegasus team best demonstrated team spirit and sportsmanship with thier positive attitude, assistance to other teams, excellent airplane, and the paintball-themed airplane graphics.

Pictures

Click here for pictures of the event
(Courtesy Dick Weast)

Video
Speedfest II featured a new optional competition category for 2 minute promotional videos.  People from around the world voted for their favorite.  The winner was the OSU Black team.  Listed in order of votes, are links to the 2012 entries.  Click on a link to watch the short video:

OSU Black
OSU Orange
UD Aero Design



Thank You
Speedfest II was a great success thanks to all of the hard work of the students, pilots, organizations, and dozens of volunteers.  In addition to the sponsors recognized in the Speedfest III logo block, the Speedfest organizers would like to thank the following organizations for thier assistance:

Stillwater RC Flyers
Oklahoma Civil Air Patrol
Student chapter of AIAA
Stillwater Chamber of Commerce
OSU Student Government Association