Hail Shield

Inspiration

rubber deicing boots on airplanes

What it does

Portable protective cover for General Aviation wings, fuselage, and empennage against hail damage.

How we built it

two layers of material with a sealed internal baffles inflated with air individually from a common point.

Challenges we ran into

Getting an airtight chambers, filling the chambers from a common source.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Printing internal structure of an aircraft wing, using a low tech solution to reduce cost and the technology is already available to make.

What we learned

Weather has a large negative cost associated with aircraft ownership the pilots need the ability to protected the aircraft when it is sitting in the weather.

What's next for Hail Shield

Getting a better material such a sheet rubber that has the ability to form chambers and hold air, also creating a working prototype with to verify hail damage protection. Also, we need to find a material that makes the hail shield portable and lightweight.

Built With

• airplane
• damage
• hail
• protection
• wing