pac@seas.upenn.edu

Sponsorship Benefits and Details

Talent Network

Event Invitation

Tax Deduction

Brand Visibility

pac@seas.upenn.edu

Balloon

Team Structure

1: Penn Aerospace Club (PAC)

Founded in 2014, Penn Aerospace Club (PAC) is a student-led organization at the University of Pennsylvania. PAC is divided into four independently operating sub-teams: Aircraft, Balloon, Jet Propulsion, and High-Powered Rocketry. As the primary aerospace-focused group on campus, PAC is comprised of the best aerospace and engineering talent Penn has to offer.

​

PAC as an organization exists in order to foster a love for aerospace within students through the use of student research, hands-on building experiences, and guest speaker presentations. PAC makes it easier for students to do more of what they love, learning and exploring the field of aerospace engineering.

​

Our sub-teams allow for more diversification within aerospace, while allowing student to still meet and work with other students under the PAC umbrella. Students within subteams do their own research and teach themselves much of the physics, technology, and science that goes into creating each teams’ namesake.

​

Mission Statement

​

At the University of Pennsylvania Aerospace Club, our mission is to foster a passionate community of future aerospace engineers by providing unparalleled educational experiences, hands-on training, and inspiring events. We are dedicated to equipping our members with the knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm necessary to excel in the dynamic field of aerospace engineering.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

pac@seas.upenn.edu

Aircraft Team Overview

2.1: General Information

Penn Aerospace Club’s Aircraft Team focuses on aircraft research, design, fabrication, and testing, exploring in-depth all parts of the engineering design process. Revamped over the summer of 2023, the Aircraft team is currently in the middle of the 2024-2025 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Design/Build/Fly Competition. The DBF Competition is an annual contest among colleges and universities across the world that challenges students to design, build, and fly a radio-controlled aircraft within specified requirements and parameters. The competition involves both design specifications, such as limitations on the size and weight of the aircraft, as well as in-flight missions that the aircraft must be capable of executing.

​

This year will be the 29th annual AIAA DBF Competition, and the second year in which the team is competing. Key competition milestones include a preliminary proposal, detailed design report, and the capstone fly-off, scheduled for April 2025 in Tucson, AZ.

​

The Aircraft team is very proud to announce that our preliminary proposal placed 4th out of 149 teams in our first ever competition appearance this year. We hope to build on the successes and shortcomings of our 23-24 year. During last year’s competition, our team of 27 undergraduates outperformed teams of over 50 members, teams of 20+ graduate students, and teams that have been competing in DBF for 10+ years. We are very excited for Aircraft to compete in the 24-25 DBF competition for the second year in a row!

pac@seas.upenn.edu

2.2: Organizational Structure

The Aircraft team is organized into three (3) separate subteams, each focusing on different aspects of the aircraft design, fabrication, and testing processes.

​

The Aerodynamics and Structures subteam deals with the design and fabrication major parts of the aircraft’s structure, including wings, fuselage, and tail. This team utilizes advanced design analysis tools and machining equipment to optimize flight efficiency and performance.

​

The Propulsion and Avionics subteam works on integrating the control and propulsion systems into the aircraft. This team manages all electrical equipment throughout the aircraft and is responsible for ensuring efficiency and controllability during flight.

​

The Mission subteam is in charge of aligning the aircraft’s design with competition objectives and requirements. This team performs sensitivity analysis on a multitude of controllable parameters, informing all teams of optimal design strategies for the competition.

Aircraft Demographics

Aircraft Budget (2024/25)

By Academic Major

By Sub-Team

By Year Group

pac@seas.upenn.edu

Balloon Team Overview

3.1: General Information

The High-Altitude Balloon team builds and launches their payload to altitudes of over 70,000 feet 2-3 times a year. They work on both engineering and research projects; this fall, their Flight Data and Research Team will be launching a solar panel with the payload to investigate the effects of environmental variables on solar cell efficiency at high altitudes, as well as creating a sample drawer of various biomaterials to observe their behaviors in near-space conditions. Additionally, their engineering teams will be testing various materials for a more robust payload, creating a new electronics board to wire the sensors and equipment required for their research projects, and implementing a software pipeline to efficiently transmit image and video feed from the balloon in real-time while it is in flight. Please see below for more details on each team.

3.3: Electrical Team

The Electrical Subteam is responsible for wiring up the payload, consisting of temperature, humidity, light, gas, and altitude sensors, a GPS, the RockBlock, and an Arduino Mega. Electrical team members leverage tools like Arduino IDE and C programming to ensure that sensors are initialized and compatible with one another as well as the microcontroller. This year, they will be connecting the various sensors and devices required for their current research projects.

3.4: Software Team

The Software Subteam processes and represents the data recorded by the payload. Sensor data is recorded in csv files, which is parsed and cleaned up using linear interpolation techniques. In previous years, the team successfully managed to write Python code that used sensor data to represent the flight path and even got started working on a UI that allowed used to input CSV files of their own and select axes for the resulting graphs. This year, the team will be working on various telecommunications projects, including developing a Ground Control feature that will give us live feedback of the balloon’s status from the RockBlock, as well as recording and transcribing image/video feed transmitted from a camera mounted to the balloon.

pac@seas.upenn.edu

3.2: Mechanical Team

The Mechanical Subteam manages the structural aspect of the payload and calculates the path of the balloon. Last year, they implemented a cutdown mechanism that allows for user-controlled separation of the payload/parachute and balloon, allowing the team to control the balloon’s flight distance and prevent it from being lost in the ocean. This year, they will be testing various materials and designs to create a payload that can withstand the descent from the cutdown point and protect the electronics contained inside on its way back to the ground.

​

Balloon Demographics

Balloon Budget (2024/25)

pac@seas.upenn.edu

Jet Propulsion Team Overview

3.1: Engine Team

The Engine Team is committed to exploring the engineering of jet propulsion through the fabrication of micro turbojets. From PJP’s inception in 2021, the Engine Team worked for three years on manufacturing the club’s first jet engine: a radial compression micro turbojet design taken from the legendary Thomas Kamps. Upon successful testing of our first engine in the summer of 2023, Engine Team began designing our first proprietary and axial compression micro turbojet. Design work on the new engine was completed and manufacturing work began in the 2023/24 academic year, thanks in large part to state-of-the-art professional analysis tools provided by industry mentors. Once fully operational by the end of 2024, the engine will be the first axial turbojet of its kind to be designed from the ground up by undergraduate students.

3.2: AFRL APOP Team

The AFRL APOP (Air Force Research Laboratory Aerospace Propulsion Outreach Program) Team was formed in 2022 with 2 main objectives: to push the boundary of existing aerospace technology with innovation and creativity and to develop well-rounded engineers who take ownership by producing a product from concept through fabrication. The team wins an annual ~$20k contract from the US Air Force to complete a turbojet engine modification project, competing against ~20 other teams from top engineering universities nationwide. In 2022/23, PJP’s APOP team won the entire competition at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base, developing a Ducted Intake Generator turbojet engine solution to convincingly generate the most power while meeting a thrust-to-weight ratio criteria. The following year, the team met the challenge of inventing a deployable thrust reversal modification by creating a Variable Pitch Propellor Reverser, augmenting a turbojet engine to generate 1:1 forward thrust to reverse thrust, and winning the Design Creativity award. The team is excited to continue their success in 2024/25, exploring solutions to improve engine fuel efficiency.

​

3.3: Engine Control Unit Team

The Engine Control Unit (ECU) team focuses on designing and building sensor systems and software used for testing engines. They work hand-in-hand with the other teams to make sure their engine testing needs are fully met. This semester, their main goals are to further develop and integrate their sensors into a central ECU system, while also adding more advanced software capabilities for analyzing and displaying testing data. Their work aims to provide a comprehensive engine monitoring solution that helps drive innovation and performance.

3.4: Senior Review Board

The newly formed Senior Review Board, made up of undergraduate senior students, will mentor PJP sub-teams and conduct preliminary and critical design reviews periodically

pac@seas.upenn.edu

PJP Demographics

PJP Budget (2023/24)

By Academic Major

By Sub-Team

By Year Group

pac@seas.upenn.edu

High Power Rocketry Team Overview

pac@seas.upenn.edu

High Power Rocketry Demographics

HPR Budget (2023/24)

By Academic Major

By Sub-Team

By Year Group

pac@seas.upenn.edu