Introduction

The Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute, proposed a design challenge to all
students in post secondary institutions. The objective was to design and implement a new
glider aircraft that could fly for 75 seconds and carry a specified amount of weight. The
best aircraft would be chosen based on design ingenuity and, more importantly, the
amount of time it stayed air born with the largest load. Teams were allowed to be advised
by any source that did not qualify to compete, however these sources of knowledge were
prohibited from engaging in any repair work or flight operations.
To qualify for this event, the aircraft had to fit in a box with the following
dimensions: 1 meter high, 2 meters wide and 2 meters deep. Propulsion had to be
achieved by human power, and this power had to be achieved by one human. Once in the
air, the aircraft was allowed to by propelled by human interaction up to a maximum
height of 50 meters, at which time the tow rope had to disconnect. To qualify, it had to
demonstrate controlled flight without any load for a minimum of 75 seconds, after which
the aircraft was free to crash. Finally, for the teams that met these requirements, the
competition began, where by, points were awarded based on the following algorithm:
points payload ( g ) time( s ) 10 4

The successful gliders are, and always have been, those gliders which
demonstrated the optimum compromise. This meant designing an imperfect aircraft in
the most perfect way to meet requirements and accomplish the objective. For the
Ryerson Free Flight glider team, a team with no veteran members, this meant designing a
safe glider one that was proven to work, and one that could be improved upon in the

following competitions. The report illustrates the evolution of the first Ryerson Free
Flight glider, and acts as a stepping stone to future success.