Contact: L. Kim Smith (703) 684-6777
Georgia Institute of Technology and the Pennsylvania State University/ Technion—The Israel Institute of Technology
Take Top Honors in the 2006 23rd Annual AHS/Industry/Nasa Student Design Competition
ALEXANDRIA, VA – AHS Executive Director M. E. Rhett Flater announced that Georgia Institute of Technology came in first place in the 23rd Student Design Competition graduate category and the University of Maryland captured second place honors. The Istanbul Technical University won as the “Best New Entrant.”
In the undergraduate category, The Pennsylvania State University in a first-time teaming with The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology won first-place and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology came in second. Bell Helicopter Textron was the sponsor of the 23rd annual competition which rotates among Boeing, Sikorsky, Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. and AgustaWestland.
The AHS Student Design Competition, which challenges students to design a vertical lift aircraft which meets specified requirements, provides a practical exercise for engineering students at nationally accredited colleges and universities. The competition promotes student interest in vertical flight technology. The first- and second-place winning teams are awarded a cash stipend and the winning team is invited to the AHS Annual Forum and Technology Display to present their winning entry. Members of the teams receive one-day complimentary registration to the forum, the vertical flight industry’s principal professional technical event. This year, Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc.. included a “New Entrant” category to stimulate interest in the competition.
Bell challenged participants to design a two-place single-engine turbine training helicopter. The trainer had to be inexpensive to acquire and a new low-cost turbine engine needed to be designed as well.
For those interested in more information about the AHS Student Design Competition please visit our web site at http://www.vtol.org The web site will also contain the Request for Proposal for the 2007 AHS Student Design Competition as well as the top winning entries from 2006.
AHS International – The Vertical Flight Society is a professional, technical society founded in 1943, that represents the interests of the worldwide vertical flight industry.