Oluwatomiwa Adetoyese Olagunju has achieved an uncommon feat by building an aircraft. This had been his childhood dream and he worked at it tenaciously. The graduate of aerospace engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) was a member of an eight-man team that built and piloted a prototype aircraft as part of his final year project. The team’s project was tagged “The Vermilion Project”. The team was tasked to design and build an aircraft to carry the greatest amount of payload given certain restrictions, including use of a specific engine, a total size limit (225) in span + length) and some material restrictions.
The mission was to take off in less than 200 ft, complete a simple flight circuit of a field and land in less than 400 ft. The entire plane was built with a combination of bass, balsa and spruce woods. The aircraft the team built has a 10ft wing span and 6.7ft long from propeller to tail. It weighed 19 pounds without the payload and 45 pounds with the payload. Oluwatomiwa personally worked on the fuselage, tail aerodynamics and control system.
He and his team soon began to make the headline as the FIT felt that what the team did was good enough to complete with some of the best from around the world; so, it was entered for the society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Aero Design East competition, where they competed against engineering students from all over the world.
Studying and graduating as an aerospace engineer, though challenging, was very exciting for Tomiwa. Here are some interesting things that he had to say about his experience so far.
The motivation that led him to embark on building the aircraft
In my third year at the University, we were tasked with coming up with ideas for our final projects and I quickly keyed into designing and building an autonomous aircraft that would be able to drop a payload at a given specifications. Although I was not able to do that project, I was assigned to a similar team to build a remote-controlled aircraft and the experience was definitely more fulfilling than I imagined.”
How he feels being a Blackman in a white- dominated environment
FIT has a diverse campus and a wide variety of people from all over the world. To be honest, race was not really a factor in my experience here.
What really motivated him to study the course?
I have always been fascinated with airplanes, rockets and flight in general and when I started thinking about my career, I initially wanted to be a pilot. But as I got older, I developed a greater interest in what goes on behind the scenes. I did a little more research and decided to study Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineering in the university. I could recollect watching the TV with my parents when I was about seven years old. We saw a plane crash with some casualties.
“The question that came to my mind as a child then was: ‘Is it not possible to design aircraft that will not break into pieces or explode? That was when my dream grew bigger about aircraft and flight.”
The role played by his parents
My parents are also a strong factor. My father has always taught me not only to work hard, but to work smart and always think about the big picture. He also taught me never to limit myself, but to push harder to become great. My mother encourages me and strengthens my belief in myself and God.
His plans for the future
It is not enough to qualify as an engineer; I still have my eyes fixed on the bigger picture. I need to build an edge in a highly competitive world. This ambition has compelled me to apply for a Masters Degree programme in engineering management at the FIT, which I hope will help to integrate my engineering knowledge with business practices.
Credit: Daily Newswatch
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