As some of you may know, Kyle Smith and Jerry L. Smith assisted the University of Kentucky (UK) Paducah Campus Engineering department with their American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) radio-controlled model airplane this year. Jerry provided technical support with Kyle who traveled with the students to Tucson, AZ for the competition as the team pilot.
In addition to the Paducah Aero Modelers annual public events, this is another great example how our club participates in many levels of youth model aircraft engagement while supporting our club initiatives. Well done to our two club members for their time and dedication to this very successful competition.
Below is a synopsis provided by the UK Paducah Campus Engineering department.
The McCracken County 4-H Rocket Club was founded by Alex Senig, a Ph.D. student is aerospace engineering at the University of Kentucky, and Professor John Maddox, from the UK Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, in 2023 in partnership with the McCracken County Extension office and McCracken County 4-H Youth Development Agent Rachael Davis. Startup funding was obtained through a grant from the Kentucky Space Grant Consortium.
The club’s primary mission is to promote youth development and interest is STEM through participation is the annual American Rocketry Challenge. In this competition, the students must design a rocket to carry a specified number of hen’s eggs to a target altitude and return them safely to the ground within a specified time window. Penalties are applied if the rocket flies too high or low and if flight time is too long or too short.
The inaugural year of the club saw the formation of 3 rocket design teams with 16 total high school members from public schools and homeschools in McCracken County, Livingston County, and Ballard County. In its second year of operation, the club expanded to include middle school students as well as high school students. Participation is open any interested middle or high school students in the surrounding area.
The design process starts in the fall with regular meetings at the University of Kentucky – Paducah Campus Makerspace and the McCracken County 4-H Extension office. Throughout the year, club members learn the fundamentals of flight dynamics, computer modeling, computer aided design (CAD), and modern fabrication techniques in additive manufacturing through 3D printing and traditional subtractive manufacturing through the use of computer-controlled machines.
The primary mission of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) student chapter at the University of Kentucky – Paducah Campus is to support students interested in aerospace careers through educational opportunities and connection to industry professionals. Each year the students participate in the AIAA Design/Build/Fly in which they design, fabricate, and demonstrate the flight capabilities of an unmanned, electric powered, radio-controlled aircraft which can best meet the specified mission profile for that year.
The goal is a balanced design possessing stable demonstrated flight handling qualities and practical and affordable manufacturing requirements while providing a high vehicle performance. The 2025 DBF missions tasked students with developing an airplane to carry and release a secondary autonomous flight vehicle, also developed by the students, along with auxiliary fuel tanks, drawing 112 team from around the world representing universities from 6 continents, 18 countries, and 35 US states.
The Paducah team successfully completed all flight missions laid out in the competition rules and placed 24th overall, which set a new record for the UK Paducah Campus.
The success of the student team and the educational experience it provided was made possible through the support of their sponsors: Holcim, Stanley & Karen Pigman, the University of Kentucky, and finally Kyle Smith who generously donated his time, expertise, and equipment and also travelled to Tucson with the team to serve as their pilot during the competition.
