In their inaugural season, the aviation club finished in the Top 10 at the General Aviation Manufacturers Association Aviation Design Challenge
Founded by students who wanted to revive and expand aviation opportunities on campus, the club has already earned national recognition by finishing in the Top 10 of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Aviation Design Challenge.
For club founder Myron Ciputra ’28, the inspiration came from both a love of aviation and a desire to build upon Stony Brook’s existing aviation resources, including the school’s aviation lab and flight simulators.
“We shared a very strong passion for aviation,” said Ciputra. “We also wanted to pursue the engineering side while pursuing the piloting side. We saw that Stony Brook used to have an aviation lab with a 737 simulator and previous simulators, so we wanted to bring aviation back to Stony Brook.”
The GAMA Aviation Design Challenge gave students the opportunity to apply engineering principles in a competitive environment. Teams were tasked with designing an aircraft capable of meeting a series of performance requirements.
Leon Li ’29 explained how the engineering team used X-Plane 12 flight simulation software to construct and evaluate aircraft models.
“We designed a 3D model with performance loaded into the model and did test runs on the simulator,” Li said. “The engineering group would redesign the aircraft, and the test pilots would collect data and provide feedback. The cycle kept going as we improved the design.”
Students quickly discovered that success required balancing multiple variables, including fuel efficiency, speed, payload weight, and flight routing. Test pilots worked to optimize takeoff procedures, landing performance, and navigation between airports in order to maximize their score.
Tik Kong ’29 said the process challenged many of the team’s original assumptions about aviation and piloting.
“We figured out later that to achieve a high score you needed a high weight load, minimal fuel usage, and the shortest route and shortest time,” he said. “That helped us score pretty high compared to what we knew of other scores.”
The club’s Top 10 finish marked a significant accomplishment for a first-year program and has already sparked excitement for the future. Under the guidance of faculty advisor Mrs. Cippitelli, club members are planning to expand their activities next year.
“We’re going to continue the GAMA Aviation Design Challenge,” said Ted Luo ‘30. “We’re also going to participate in the NASA Engineering Challenge in the winter. We’re planning field trips to Brookhaven Airport to study more about aviation and enhance our club.”
By combining engineering, problem-solving, and aviation technology, the Aviation Club is giving students the opportunity to explore careers in aerospace while building skills that extend far beyond the simulator.