Virginia Tech placed 8th at the 2004 Cessna/ONR AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition. The competition was held in Wichita, KS. At the competition, there were 37 teams that had submitted a report, 26 teams that passed tech inspection, and 21 teams with scoring flights.
On the first flight, Virginia Tech lost motor power during our first 180 degree turn. The pilot was able to fly the plane through the 360 degree turn, and back to a safe landing on the runway. The problem was corrected, and Turbulence Syndrome flew successful flights for each mission. On the fourth flight attempt, a wet receiver caused Turbulence Syndrome to go into a “fail safe” mode, and crashed. Everyone on the team worked hard all Sunday afternoon to rebuild Turbulence Syndrome. At the end of the day, Turbulence Syndrome was ready for the 5th flight attempt. Unfortunately, Virginia Tech did not complete a successful mission for this attempt.