From left to right, Bill Timmer, Brandon Wehner and Brian Catrine stand with the T-tail design they created that will allow an airplane to have less drag while achieving more fuel efficiency. (Photo by Paul Collins)
Three Fairmont students win
Ohio World Design competition
By PAUL COLLINS Special Writer
Apple cofounder Steve Jobs contended that innovation "distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
Fairmont seniors Brandon Wehner, Brian Catrine, and Bill Timmer proved themselves to be leaders on Wednesday, Feb. 17, when they beat out 49 other Ohio teams to become the winners of the Ohio Real World Design Challenge.
The students received the good news during a press conference at Metro Early College High School in Columbus.
Competition was stiff, and the Fairmont seniors were facing teams with a month lead. Still, the young innovators' design of a T-tail that allows a plane to have less drag and more fuel efficiency, brought victory at the State Challenge Competition and won the Fairmont students an all-expense paid trip to compete at the National Event in Washington, D.C.
Both Gov. Ted Strickland and the FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt were both on hand to honor the students for their accomplishment. All three seniors expressed pleasant surprise over the win.
""I was kind of shocked and excited," said Timmer. "This is a great way of showing everything we've learned at the PLTW program in the last two years. The first place we earned just shows how much hard work and time we've put into it."
"It was pretty nice to be able to beat out the other teams," said Catrine.
"We were nervous at first," added Wehner. "Then when they announced our name, we were like, 'Dang, we won.' It was good stuff."
The victory did not come without a considerable time investment; the students worked two and a half hours a day for five days a week in the time leading up to the contest. Regular consultation with an engineering mentor from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base was required to give the project a winning edge, and the students had to learn a whole new software to do the design.
According to Catrine, projects in the realm of aeronautical engineering are not easily conquered or accomplished.
"It's pretty time-consuming," explained Catrine. "There's a lot of things involved. You can't just go out and design stuff. You have to make sure things are safe. The whole point is to make it work the best."
Fortunately, all three students have displayed a love for all things technical and mechanical that proved useful when they tackled the project. Wehner recalls a childhood of taking devices apart and putting them together again, and his teenaged have been spent working on cars.
Catrine has a similar past filled with disassembling gadgets, and he currently repairs video game consoles for a little extra cash. Timmer also remembers always being interested in tools and the way things work.
"I've always been taking things apart," said Catrine. "Now I get to put them back together."
Now the students are back to work on a whole new design dealing with a plane's front wings. They hope that the new design will win the prize on Mar. 26-29, when the Fairmont seniors travel to Washington, D.C. to compete in the national event.
According to Catrine, the students expect the competition to be equally fierce on the national level.
"We're going up against the top 25, so there's less room for error," said Catrine. "We're not just representing Fairmont, we're representing the whole state of Ohio as well."
While the competition and expectations may seem intimidating, David Lord, the students' engineering instructor, believes the students have the talent and skill necessary to bring home the national title.
"We got a late start, but I think they're putting a good effort into it," said Lord. "I think they've got a good chance."
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