A radio-controlled WIG (Wing-In-Ground-Effect) aircraft designed, built, and flown by four SDSU aerospace engineering seniors — 20 lb airframe, four-motor distributed propulsion, lift-off achieved at 42.7 mph in ground effect.
Across four flight-test sessions, BarrelBorne reached a peak speed of 42.7 mph — clearing the 41 mph design takeoff speed — and produced a brief, stable lift-off in ground effect with pitch and roll attitude held within ±1°. After two crashes, two rebuilds, and seven runs in the final test session, the team showcased the completed vehicle at SDSU Senior Design Day on May 6, 2026.
Watch Flight FootageBarrelBorne is a radio-controlled Wing-In-Ground-Effect (WIG) vehicle designed, fabricated, instrumented, and flight-tested over a single semester by four aerospace engineering seniors at San Diego State University (SDSU). A WIG vehicle is an aircraft that flies just above a surface — typically water or open ground — to exploit aerodynamic ground effect. When the wing is within roughly one chord length of the surface, lift increases for the same angle of attack; within one wingspan, induced drag drops sharply because the ground disrupts the wing's downwash and weakens the wingtip vortices that normally drive induced drag.
The completed prototype uses a 3D-printed ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) airframe wrapped around a carbon fiber spar skeleton, four outboard BrotherHobby Tornado T5 motors driving 8×4.5 in three-blade propellers, and a Holybro Pixhawk 6C flight controller running ArduPlane firmware. Wing-loading analysis was hand-validated, the propulsion stack was bench-tested in SDSU's low-speed wind tunnel, and the vehicle was flown across four field test sessions — including two high-energy crashes and two successful ground-effect runs — before being shown at SDSU Senior Design Day.
When a wing flies within roughly one chord length of the surface, the ground physically blocks the downwash leaving the trailing edge. The result is a higher effective angle of attack and a measurable bump in coefficient of lift (CL) for the same pitch.
Inside one wingspan, the ground also disrupts the wingtip vortices that drive induced drag. Cruise efficiency rises sharply — the same lift is held with less power, which is why historical Soviet ekranoplans like the Caspian Sea Monster could carry enormous payloads at high speed.
BarrelBorne's design draws from the lineage of full-scale WIG vehicles — the KM "Caspian Sea Monster" (USSR, 1966), the A-90 Orlyonok (1979), the Boeing Pelican ULTRA concept, the AirFish 8, and modern entrants like REGENT's Viceroy seaglider — scaled down to a 5.4 ft wingspan for academic flight test.
Four field-test sessions on the SDSU practice field. Two ended in successful ground-effect runs; two ended in high-energy crashes that drove rebuild and design changes — including a stiffer wingbox, a revised nose cone, and a center-of-gravity (CG) shift to improve pitch stability. The clips below are the highlights.
Final Flight Test Results — Session 4
Flight Test Day — Session 4
Two of the four flight test sessions ended in destructive crashes. Both events drove real engineering changes — a stiffer wingbox, a redesigned nose cone, and a CG shift — and in both cases the avionics stack survived intact, allowing the team to reuse the Pixhawk, ESCs, and motors across rebuilds.
On May 6, 2026, BarrelBorne was presented at SDSU's Senior Design Day — the annual capstone showcase where graduating engineering seniors from every discipline present their projects to industry judges, faculty, and the public. Learn more about Design Day →
Showcased the completed airframe alongside the team's printed Senior Design Day poster, telemetry data from Flight Test 4, and live demonstrations of the modular motor-housing nacelle disconnect system.
The team walked judges and attendees through the build journey — from airfoil trade studies through two crashes, two rebuilds, and a successful ground-effect flight.
Graduation
Explore the full aircraft and the modular motor-housing nacelle in your browser. Drag to rotate, scroll to zoom.
Drag to rotate · Scroll to zoom · Right-click to pan
Drag to rotate · Scroll to zoom · Right-click to pan
The entire airframe was 3D printed in-house on a Bambu Lab P2S using Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic with 10% gyroid infill and a two-wall-loop perimeter, then bonded to a carbon fiber spar skeleton. Total print time across the fuselage, both wings, the tail, and four motor-housing nacelles was 270 hours. Buying the printer outright cut turnaround per part and eliminated lab-printer queue delays during the build phase.
Print Photos
We tested the motors and propellers in SDSU's low-speed wind tunnel to measure maximum static thrust. A custom aluminum mount was machined and fitted with a load cell to record thrust output at varying throttle levels across all four motor and propeller combinations. Bench testing validates performance before flight and helps catch mechanical or electrical problems early, before the airframe is at risk.
We also completed all power system soldering: the four Skywalker V2 ESCs were soldered to the Matek X Class 12S PDB (Power Distribution Board), along with the power module and the UBEC (Universal Battery Eliminator Circuit) supplying regulated 5V power to the avionics stack. Measured static max thrust across all four motors: 28 lb.
Wind Tunnel Testing
Soldering — ESCs, PDB, and Power Module
A condensed chronology from research and trade studies in January 2026 through a fully integrated, taxi-tested airframe in mid-April 2026.
The fully assembled WIG vehicle completed its first taxi test. With all four motors running, the aircraft tracked straight on the ground and responded correctly to control inputs from the RadioMaster Boxer transmitter. Control surfaces and motor arming all checked out nominal. The airframe held up without issue under motor thrust loading.
Full airframe assembly completed. All electronics, wiring, servos, and avionics installed and integrated. Completed a full system test including motor arming, ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) calibration, control surface travel checks, and Pixhawk sensor validation. Flight controller configured in ArduPlane with telemetry link established.
Motor and propeller bench testing completed in SDSU's low-speed wind tunnel. All wing sections, fuselage, tail, and motor-housing nacelles finished printing. Full assembly and wiring underway.
To cut down on print times and eliminate dependence on shared lab printers, the team purchased a Bambu Lab P2S, dramatically reducing turnaround per part. Fuselage sections 1–4 and section 6 printed first; nose cone, section 5, wings, and tail followed. Wiring diagram finalized. Control surfaces designed, nose cone revised, and servo hatches completed.
Motors bench-tested in SDSU's wind tunnel — measuring thrust output, current draw, motor and ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) temperature, and checking for voltage sag under load. Pixhawk 6C, 3DR radio telemetry kit, and RadioMaster ELRS (ExpressLRS) receiver all received and installed.
Motors, ESCs, batteries, propellers, carbon fiber spars, and all filament arrived. Nose cone, fuselage sections 1–3, and wing section 1 completed on the printer.
Design locked: FX 63-137 airfoil, aspect ratio 5.4, 5.4 ft wingspan, 4-motor distributed propulsion. Full SolidWorks assembly completed. Proposal submitted and approved.
Researched historical WIG (Wing-In-Ground-Effect) vehicles — Caspian Sea Monster, Lun class, Orlyonok, AirFish 8, REGENT Viceroy seaglider. Completed airfoil trade study comparing FX 63-137, NACA 4412, and GAW-1. Selected FX 63-137 for its superior low-speed high-lift characteristics.