Model aircraft challenges British ingenuity

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Dec 1, 2005

A leading British university and a specialist IT solutions company aim to see just how innovative Britain can be by issuing a challenge - to make an aeroplane.

A leading British university and a specialist IT solutions company aim to see just how innovative Britain can be by issuing a challenge - to make an aeroplane - and have committed thousands of pounds of prizes to it.

This is the brainchild of Cranfield University's Aerospace Engineering department and Choir IT.

Using only basic materials - paper, card, glue, tape, elastic bands and paper clips - competitors are being asked to use their ingenuity and team work skills to produce a model aeroplane.

The planes will then be tested on three separate areas - speed, distance and endurance.

There are no limits on its physical dimensions or weight and stored energy principles can be employed within these constraints.

Professor Heinz Wolff, a celebrity in his own right, and Founding Director of the Institute for Bioengineering, will be joining them as guest of honour and referee at the grand final.

Remembered for series such as "The great egg race", "Young scientists of the year" and "Great experiments which changed the world", he passionately believes in the importance of technical and scientific education for young people and in getting them to think of the social and ethical consequences of advances in these fields.

The challenge is open to teams and individuals from schools, businesses and social groups with the aim being to test the contestants in a number of key business skills.

Prizes up to the value of GBP 1000 will be awarded to the winning teams as well as additional prizes available for the team's schools or businesses.

The challenge is also intended to help answer such questions as: what types of people and organisations are the most innovative? Are girls more innovative than boys? Are younger people more innovative than older people? Are small businesses more innovative than large ones? Are startups more innovative than mature businesses? And are state schools more innovative than private schools?.

Right now, we do not know.

This challenge will help shed some light in these areas.

Choir IT and Cranfield Aerospace make natural partners with both organisations excelling in the key challenge areas.

Rob Trippett, Chief Executive of Choir IT, explains how the challenge is designed to test participants' innovation, teaming, education, knowledge and flexibility.

"We have decided to launch this challenge as customers working with us find us flexible, easy to work with and value our ability to innovate when it comes to finding solutions to IT problems".

"I feel that it is important to foster these attributes in the workplace".

Professor John Fielding, Head of Cranfield University's Aerospace Engineering added: "Innovation, coupled with huge subject matter expertise, is central to what makes Cranfield different".

"I am delighted to be part of this collaboration, and look forward to seeing the different ways in which the participants answer the brief".

The contest will be split into heats with the final taking place at Cranfield in April 2006.

Scoring will be based on: performance; artistic presentation; team spirit; planning; and project management.

Significant additional points will be awarded based on "lessons learned" and a "video diary".

This is an ideal time to start assessing how innovative Britons are.

Prime Minister Tony Blair commented: "The creativity and inventiveness of our people is our country's greatest asset and has always underpinned the UK's economic success".

"But in an increasingly global world, our ability to invent, design and manufacture the goods and services that people want is more vital to our future prosperity than ever".