LISTEN: Georgia Tech has formally opened its new aerospace laboratory, and the first projects are already being designed with local and national organizations. GPB’s Amanda Andrews reports.

A student walks past a metal aircraft frame

The aircraft frame chosen for the RAVEN (Research Aircraft for eVTOL Enabling techNologies) project in collaboration with NASA was on display at the Aerospace Lab.

Credit: Georgia Tech

Engineering students in the new Aircraft Prototyping Laboratory are researching, building, and testing electric and autonomous flight systems. The new facility already has major collaborators, including the Georgia Department of Transportation and NASA.

Aerospace Engineering Professor Brian German said a 1,000-pound electric aircraft is their first major endeavor.

“That’s a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, similar in capability to a helicopter, but very quiet,” he said. “We're doing that with NASA as a research project to test the technologies that go onto those sort of aircraft, again, to better support the U.S. industry.”

The new lab is 10,000 square feet and includes several specialized labs, a fabrication area, and a space large enough for an aircraft with a 20-foot wingspan.

Heather Beers is an aerospace graduate student and a member of the Vertical Flight Society. She said this work goes beyond the classroom.

“You get actually say, 'Hey, I put my hands on this rotorcraft,'” Beers said. “I put on my hands this helicopter and I actually built and designed something while still being a student before I went into industry.”

Georgia Tech enrolls more than 2,000 students in its aerospace program.

Tags: aerospace  Georgia Tech  Georgia