After choosing the NACA-0009 airfoil, I began CADing a prototyped tail design on solidworks!
The tail features a 3D printed mid-section which houses integrated servos, and 3D printed control surfaces. The rest of the tail has laser-cut balsawood cross sections with monokote wrap on top to minimize mass. The design encorporated carbon fiber rods for rigidity and support as well.
The hardest part of this project was getting the tolerances correct for the carbon fiber rods and servos to fit snuglly. This was a challenge as 3D printer tolerances were not always consistent. Additionaly I had to coordinate with other teams to make sure my design did not interfere with other parts on the plane and could easily be attached.
I also worked on trying to parametrically CAD each part so I could easily make changes based on design criteria and tolerances. This took a little bit more time but was definitely helpful in prototyping.
Soon our team will be working on testing the entire plane in preperation for competion in April.