Taking to the skies - Red Bull Flight Competition
They are not afraid of challenges for crazy engineers and want to take to the skies in an unconventional way - a group of students of aerospace engineering from the Silesian University of Technology will take part in the seventh edition of the Red Bull Flight Competition in Gdynia. Young pilots are finishing building their machine at the Student Creativity Centre of the Silesian University of Technology.
The competition involves constructing a flying machine that will allow daredevils to soar into the air and then land in the water with a big splash. Engineers must show off their imagination and humour. Judges will evaluate creativity, flight length, and a short show presented before take-off.
– Our machine consists of a toy car, which is a reference to the cult cartoon Pat & Mat, and a hang glider, which will accelerate thanks to the rails on the vehicle’s roof and will fly or fall slowly – laughs Michał Sujkowski, a student of the Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering. – We are creating a large wing with a chord of about two meters and a span of ten meters, we hope that our friend will fly as far as possible on a hang glider.
The vehicle takes off from a six-meter-high ramp to the delight of the crowded audience, who react enthusiastically to both the flights and the spectacular falls into the water.
– The competition is specific because our machine will take off only once and then fall into the sea, but we are taking that into account – adds Maciej Sikorski, a student of the Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering. – We used the knowledge gained during our studies, selected the best aerodynamic profile, and created a CAD model on which we based our design of the machine.
On Sunday, August 18, at noon, competitors will try to fulfil their dream of flying at Kościuszko Square in Gdynia. We encourage you to support our team, we keep our fingers crossed for them and wish them good luck!
More about the students’ project on the Pat&Mat Lotnicza Ekspedycja FB profile.
