Dennis I participated this year in the SAE Aerodesign East as a pilot for one of the teams. Even though the faculty adviser is a long time r/c competitor he asked me to come along and push the sticks. Your'e right, most of the flying machines that showed up had never flown or flown only once or twice. I was impressed with what some of these teams came up with and how different their outlook is compared to the people around here. I was also surprised at which ones were stable enough to fly. I'd have bet a few of them would never make it off the ground. Several didn't. Still, there were nearly 50 teams from all over the world and well over 400 people participating. The OP's request, viewed from that perspective doesn't strike me as all that odd. He may have no idea what he is getting into and no one local to get him started. I have to agree it could easily be something else but dismissing it out of hand may not be the most helpful response. I'd want to know more about the guy first but it might be worthwhile. I'm about to post a similar request on autopilots for an ag project I've been approached about.

Rick H.