Visitors to this year's Northeast Ohio Electric Festival at Stile Athletics Field House Friday through Sunday can expect to see drones like this one.
Elizabeth Hammell, a junior majoring in electrical engineering, has set her post-college goals high in the sky, literally, because she wants to design airplanes for a living. Her spring break kicks off this weekend at the Northeast Ohio Electric Festival at Stile Athletics Field House.
Elizabeth Hammell is pictured here at a 2013 test flight with the Zips Aero Design Team. The electrical engineering major hopes to launch a career designing airplanes.
Remote-control airplane enthusiasts, fans and pilots gather from all over the country at this three-day festival to see and fly model aircraft ranging from 8-foot wingspans to fighter jets to palm-sized plastic models powered by thumbnail motors. Hammell will join other members of UA’s Aero Design team at the booth they will have at the event. Between test flights and fun flying, the team will talk to attendees – and future Zips – about science, engineering and airplanes.
“We like to help younger kids see that engineering school can be fun,” says Hammell. Zips Aero Design Team members show children that, “It’s not all just sitting in class —they can design and build their own projects. And maybe they can link what their dad or mom does for a living to something fun and cool.”
Sharing love of flight
The festival also gives team members the opportunity to network with professionals at the event.
“We love talking to the people at FliteTest,” says Hammell. The aviation company’s “Will It Fly?" videos on You Tube go viral. FliteTest will be at the festival again this year to demo its “Avengers”-style helicarrier, among other projects.
The Zips Aero Design Team is getting ready for the international SAE Aero Design West Competition in April in California. In 2014, the team placed first overall and set a new record for accuracy in the Advanced Class competition and second overall in the Regular Class competition. Learn more.
For dates, times and more information, visit the Northeast Ohio Electric Festival online.
Media contact: Lisa Craig, 330-972-7429 or lmc91@uakron.edu.