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Meneses 10 R/C air crafting as a hobby has grown worldwide with the introduction to highly efficient motors (both electric and combustion) along with lighter and more powerful batteries (Li-­‐Po). The cost of an R/C aircraft varies in today’s market, especially between homemade and commercial planes. A lot of factors come into play when placing a price tag on a model. For example, size, material, and the application of the aircraft play a big role when determining its value. From my research (Google) R/C airplane models range from $100-­‐$1200; this is including sophisticated drone quad copters. Taking the custom route may or may not lead to a cost effective airplane. It all depends on what materials one plans to use for building the plane. For example, if somebody wants to build an airplane made out of pure carbon fiber then his/her cost is going to be higher compared to somebody who is using balsa wood. Union Aero Competition History The Union College Aero Design Team has been competing in the SAE Aero Design Competition for the past 7 years. Through the course of this competition students will find themselves performing trade studies and making compromises to attain a design solution that will optimally meet the mission requirements while still obeying the design constraints (SAE Aero Introduction). The SAE Aero Design Competition provides three classes of competition, the Regular, Advanced, and Micro. This is the second consecutive year that the Regular class has required teams implement and electric propulsion system. According to the SAE Aero Design Rule Book, the purpose of making the Regular Class now all electric is so that it is simpler than the Advanced Class and therefore more accessible to new teams.