Students compete in radio controlled aircraft competition

A group of undergraduate students from Khalifa University were the only contestants from the UAE and the region in the competition held in Kansas.

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ABU DHABI // Undergraduates from Khalifa University have designed and built their own electric, radio-controlled aircraft for an international contest.

The students, who were the only contestants from the region, came second for design and seventh overall in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Cessna-Raytheon Missile Systems student Design, Build, Fly (DBF) contest in Kansas recently.

“I’m very proud of this achievement because it came after months of continuous hard work,” said Adnan Obaid, a student at Khalifa University’s aerospace engineering programme.

“When we travelled to the US and competed against prestigious universities and achieved the seventh place we reaped the fruits of our labour, and we are looking forward to achieving further excellence in the coming years.”

Mr Obaid and his team were chosen from students in 66 universities after their model met requirements for design, flight-handling, and practical and affordable manufacturing.

The teams were graded on the three flight missions.

“It is unusual for teams with relatively little DBF experience to achieve such a high finish in the competition, which is quite demanding,” said Dr Tod Laursen, the university’s president.

“I am extremely proud of our students, who have worked hard and effectively to achieve this result.”

pkannan@thenational.ae