News Story

Maryland Rotorcraft Team Wins for 7th Time

AHS Executive Director M. E. Rhett Flater announced that the University of Maryland came in first place in the 21st Student Design Competition graduate category and Georgia Institute of Technology captured second place honors.

The US Air Force Institute of Technology won third place as well as the "New Entrant" category. 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 AgustaWestland also introduced a "New Entrant" category to stimulate interest in the competition. AgustaWestland challenged participants to develop a helicopter specifically designed for high altitude rescue operations. The aircraft had to be certified for single pilot, day/night operations with cruise speeds of at least 145 knots. The student members were: Robin Preator, Josh Ellison, Jaye Falls, Abhishek, Shaju John, and Joe Conroy. The team was supervised by Drs. Inderjit Chopra, Dr. Tishchenko and Dr. Nagaraj.

August 13, 2004