What was accomplished

After further deliberation and evaluating the drawbacks of the X8 and hexacopter models, the mechanical department decided to derive this year's design from last year's highly successful quadcopter platform. This proven architecture will serve as our baseline reference. The conventional 4-arm quadcopter was chosen because of its superior thrust-to-weight ratio, structural simplicity, and mechanical reliability. While heavily inspired by last year's model, the new airframe will not be a direct copy; it will undergo a complete structural overhaul and redesign from the ground up to support this year's heavier payload and mission requirements.

Challenges and solutions

The main challenge was determining how extensively to redesign a platform that had already competed successfully, balancing the benefits of a fresh design against the reliability of an evolved architecture. Relying completely on last year's design risked stagnation, but building from scratch risked unforeseen structural failures. The team resolved this by adopting a “derived but upgraded” philosophy — treating last year's drone purely as a geometric starting point. Every structural element, from the arm geometry to the deck configuration, will be re-evaluated and rebuilt to meet this year's higher demands, rather than being reused as-is.

Next Steps Plan

With the quadcopter configuration confirmed, the department will move from brainstorming to the detailed CAD modeling phase, starting with determining the dimensions of the carbon fiber tubular arms and establishing their initial geometry.