Vertical Flight Society at UCI

Join us on Tuesday, February 25th, from 6:00 - 7:30 PM at ISEB 1010 for an exclusive talk with Gad Shaanan, CEO & Founder of Unmanned Aerospace! With over 40 years of experience, Gad Shaanan is a visionary entrepreneur who has developed award winning products for internationally recognized mass-market brands. His passion for designing and building scale aircraft has led to the creation of Unmanned Aerospace and the GH-4, marking his fifth startup venture. The GH-4 is an unmanned hydrogen-powered VTOL gyroplane designed for low-cost logistics delivery. Through proprietary systems, the GH-4 is capable of true VTOL/hover while maintaining its gyroplane configuration during forward flight. The technology has potential applications across military, humanitarian, and commercial sectors. This event is open to industry professionals in Southern California as well as UCI Students. Don't miss out on this opportunity to hear from an industry leader! Register below: https://lnkd.in/gVBHfjPh #VFSatUCI #VerticalFlightSociety #UCIrvine #Rotorcrafts #UAV

This week, we hosted the third session of our Rotorcrafts 101 Workshop Series! Led by Professor Jacqueline Huynh, the session covered noise overview and policy, rotorcraft aeroacoustics, and acoustics considerations for Advanced Air Mobility. From understanding rotor noise sources to exploring mitigation strategies, our students gained valuable insights into making rotorcraft quieter and more efficient. Thank you Professor Huynh and everyone who joined us for an engaging workshop session! Stay tuned for our final workshop covering flight dynamics, controls, and handling qualities. #VerticaFlightSociety #VFSatUCI #RotorcraftEngineering #AAM #UCIrvine

We had an incredible time hosting Ben Diachun at UC Irvine for our Fall 2024 Speaker Event! Ben delivered an insightful talk titled "Building Your Career: A Guide for Future Aerospace Leaders at UC Irvine". From his insights into the future of the aerospace industry to his experiences working on groundbreaking projects, as well as the lessons learned and career tips for undergraduates, this was a truly unforgettable event that inspired our student community. Thank you to Ben for sharing his expertise and inspiring the next generation of aerospace leaders. And thank you to all who attended the event! #VFSatUCI #VerticalFlightSociety #UCIrvine #AerospaceEngineering

Next week, VFS at UCI will be hosting Ben Diachun, founder of Diachun Aero and former executive at Scaled Composites, LLC, Pivotal, and Supernal. With over 25 years of experience in aerospace, Ben has led high-performing teams to develop 17 revolutionary aircraft and spacecraft, including: -Globalflyer, around-the-world non-stop non-refueled aircraft -SpaceShipOne, first commercial manned spaceship -SpaceShipTwo -Swift, high-performance experimental jet -Model 401, advanced research aircraft -Stratolaunch, world's largest composite airplane -Blackfly, all-electric personal air vehicle -SA-2, concept for eVTOL taxi Ben will share his insights on advanced aerospace innovations, the future of the industry, career tips for undergraduates, and his journey leading groundbreaking projects. This event is open to all UCI students. #VFSatUCI #VerticalFlightSociety #AerospaceEngineering #UCIrvine

Last week, VFS at UCI hosted our second Rotorcrafts 101 workshop! Our guest speaker, Ryan Patterson, presented an engaging introduction to rotor dynamics. Students were exposed to essential topics such as blade element theory, flapping & feathering, hub loads and vibrations, as well as the role of offset hinges and hingeless blades. Ryan introduced both passive (vibration absorbers and isolators) and active vibration control methods, including higher-harmonic control, individual blade control, and on-blade control. He also explained the differences between open-loop and closed-loop HHC systems. Lastly, Ryan shared wind tunnel and CFD results from his PhD thesis, "Vibration Reduction in Rotorcraft Using Active Flow Control" at the University of Michigan. Thank you Ryan! #VFSatUCI #VerticalFlightSociety #Rotorcrafts101 #AerospaceEngineering

Next week, VFS at UCI will be hosting our second session of the Rotorcrafts 101 Workshop Series! Designed to introduce the fundamentals of rotorcraft technology to undergraduate students, our next session will focus on structures and vibration. We will be hosting Ryan Patterson, Aerostructures Engineer at Karem Aircraft who will introduce key concepts relating to structures and vibrations, focusing on flapping dynamics of a rotor blade, rotor hub loads, and vibration control. Stay tuned for more workshops! #VFSatUCI #Rotorcrafts #VerticalFlightSociety #UCIrvine #Aerospace

?? Next Week: Robinson Helicopter Company Tour! ?? The Vertical Flight Society at UCI will be collaborating with AIAA Student Branch at UCI to give students an up-close look at the assembly process of Robinson Helicopters - a global leader in civilian helicopter manufacturing. Students will get to see the industry in action and meet fellow aerospace enthusiasts! #VFSatUCI #VerticalFlightSociety #AerospaceEngineering #Helicopters

This Monday, VFS at UCI successfully hosted our very first Rotorcraft Workshop Series! Frederick Tsai, Ph.D. delivered an insightful presentation serving as an introduction to rotorcraft technology. With 20+ attendees, students learned about the basics of momentum theory, swashplates, collective and cyclic control, ground resonance, and axial flow states. Future topics: -Aeroacoustics -Propulsion -Flight Dynamics, Controls, and Handling Qualities -Future Technology and Emerging Career Opportunities #VFSatUCI #VerticalFlightSociety #Rotorcrafts #AerospaceEngineering

I’m excited to be the first presenter in a new workshop series at UCI focused on rotorcraft! A key reason I wanted to get involved is that I learned UCI participated in the Vertical Flight Society's Student Design Competition and Design-Build-Vertical-Fly Competition, despite lacking fundamental rotorcraft courses. While their efforts are commendable, there’s a significant knowledge gap compared to institutions like the Vertical Lift Research Centers of Excellence (VLRCOE) at the University of Maryland (my alma mater), Georgia Tech, and Penn State, all of which have dedicated rotorcraft programs. My goal is to help close this gap at UCI and make the rotorcraft industry more accessible to its students. This won't happen in a semester, but this workshop is a necessary first step. Many thanks to Lucas Park and Vertical Flight Society at UCI for planning and coordinating the event. Looking forward to engaging with students and sparking curiosity for rotary wings! #VFSatUCI #Rotorcrafts #AerospaceEngineering #VerticalFlightSociety

We are thrilled to launch our new Rotorcraft 101 Workshop Series for the Fall of 2024! Designed to introduce undergraduates to the fundamentals of rotorcraft design, our first session will feature Frederick Tsai, Ph.D., Sr. Rotor Dynamics Engineer at Supernal, who will guide us through key topics, including: -History of Rotorcraft -Momentum Theory in Hover -Axial Climb and Descent -Forward Flight This is a unique opportunity to learn from industry experts and deepen understanding of rotorcraft dynamics. All UC Irvine students are welcome! Stay tuned for future sessions as we will branch out to cover: aeroacoustics, propulsion, flight dynamics & control, structures and vibrations, and future technology. #VFSatUCI #Rotorcrafts #AerospaceEngineering #VerticalFlightSociety