Ya know, I've often said that the SAE copetition should let in a team of modelers as a control group. But I doubt if Acedemia could withstand the shame that would occur. I think the idea of developing a plane is great but I suspect that if you look at all the successful teams they have at least one long time modeler on the design team who's done there own designs successfully in the past.

I know that I'd love to have a go at a project like that. But to heck with the molded carbon whozzits. Some carbon for sure but other than that it would be all modelling. I'd tell the students what the design was going to be in shape size and structure and then get them to analyse the snot out of it just so they feel useful....

OK, OK, I know it's not THAT bad but I suspect a modeling only group would embarass a lot of the students and teachers both.