Five final year Masters of Engineering students from the University beat 13 other teams in the two day Unmanned Aircraft Systems Challenge, organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
The Challenge, held at Bruntingthorpe Airfield in Leicestershire, asks for teams of students to undertake a full design and build cycle of a Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) before competing in a final ‘fly-off’. John Turton, from the IMechE, explains:
“The Challenge assists students to learn practical aerospace engineering skills for industry, prepares aerospace engineering students for employment and encourage links between industry and universities”
The team beat the odds after their aircraft crashed on a test flight just days before the final. James Thomas, one of the team members, said:
“We were very close to giving up but we were reluctant to abandon almost a year’s work and, with the help of University staff and some very late nights, we rebuilt the aircraft”
Previously, the five students have also won the University’s first annual Design Excellence Award for their Group Design Project which involved the same fixed wing UAV.