Correspondent photo / Sean Barron Megan McCloskey, a Youngstown State University junior and mechanical-engineering major, launches a small gliding plane she helped design. She was among about 50 undergraduates who took part in the first 3D Printed Glider competition Saturday at YSU.

YOUNGSTOWN — Cole Popichak, Joe Ciarniello and Josh Potkanowicz found themselves in a scientifically based event that relied on time instead of distance, though they will be traveling a considerable distance in a relatively short time.

“This is an R-C design with remote control, a long wingspan and a narrow body. All three of us did it for our senior design project,” Ciarniello said, referring to an intricate glider he, Popichak and Potkanowicz began constructing last September and plan to finish next month.

The three Youngstown State University mechanical engineering majors also will be going a long way, because they will be taking part in a national Design-Print-Fly competition in July in Arlington, Texas.

For now, however, they were content to get their glider in the air during the first 3D Printed Glider competition Saturday evening at YSU’s Watson and Tressel Training Site.

An estimated 50 undergraduates took part in the event, which was hosted by the YSU chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

The Reston, Va.-based AIAA, which has nearly 30,000 members representing 91 countries, is the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace industry, with a belief that members’ creativity, ingenuity and passion are shaping the future of aerospace, its website states.

In the meantime, Popichak, Potkanowicz and Ciarniello are working to shape the future of their glider, which will entail adding certain controls and electronics toward the front, along with a small motor and a battery, Potkanowicz explained. So far, their project has been judged and scrutinized several times regarding the methodology used — something that’s in lockstep with adhering to the scientific method, he continued.

“It’s been durable enough to withstand several trials. We worked on the iterations of the wings,” Potkanowicz said.

Popichak and Ciarniello also expressed gratitude for being able to recently start collaborating with America Makes, the national additive manufacturing accelerator in Youngstown, which donated its time and use of printers and certain materials for their project, they said.

For Saturday’s competition, participants were in teams of two or three and challenged to keep their gliders airborne as long as possible. Results were judged on time of flight, not distance, and based on the best average time from each of three throws, noted Dr. Hazel Marie, chairwoman of YSU’s Department of Mechanical Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing.

The gathering also was a recruiting tool for additional students in mechanical engineering and related fields, she explained.

“We hope to show younger students what YSU offers,” Marie said.

Dr. Kevin J. Disotell, a mechanical engineering professor and assistant professor in the department, said designs from the campus community were welcomed. Similarly, students who are majoring in art, math and business were invited to submit designs, since many of them are creative or use 3D printing for marketing and other purposes, he noted.

In the beginning, participants were given 500 grams of printed materials with their student IDs. Then they brought their designs in computer files to a launch lab before the designs were printed, Disotell explained.

In addition, the competition’s importance and relevance are tied in with the fact that Ohio has a high number of opportunities and resources in the field.

“Ohio is a hub for aerospace, so I hope our students become more aware of careers in the aerospace industry,” he said.

The teams with the first- and second-longest flight times in Saturday’s competition were awarded $60 and $20, respectively, Disotell said.

Gliders were to be made from 100 percent 3D printed plastic, he added.