Five teams reach Airbus' "Fly Your Ideas" contest final

Teams hail from the Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe

Five teams out of the 86 that were still in the competition have been chosen to go forward to the grand final of the Fly Your Ideas challenge at the Paris Le Bourget Airshow. Airbus, launched the contest in October 2008.

More than 2,350 students from 82 countries entered Fly Your Ideas. To participate in the contest, students were asked to develop creative ideas that can shape the future of aviation and deliver a further reduction in the industry's impact on the environment. Of the 225 teams taking part in the first round concluded in December 2008, the top 86 teams were selected for round two which ended on 31 March.

The five finalist teams are:

• The "Big Bang Team" from Universidad Politécnica de Valencia in Spain for its windowless cabin proposal for a new eco-efficient aircraft design.
  
  
• "COz" from the University of Queensland, Australia (including an overseas student from the University of Stuttgart, Germany) for its proposal on the use of bio composite cabin materials made from castor plant natural fibres.
  
  
• "Kometa Brno" from Brno University of Technology in the Czech Republic whose team developed a project on aircraft taxiway movements using electro-motors.
  
  
• "Solaire Voyager" from the National University of Singapore, selected for its solar cell technology project integrating photovoltaic cells aboard aircraft to generate electricity.
  
  
• "Stanford ADG" from Stanford University in the USA for their proposal on inverted V formation flight, building on the model of migrating birds to reduce energy consumption.

Between now and the Le Bourget Airshow, the teams will prepare their project presentations with the help of an Airbus coach. On 18 June, the teams will present their projects to the jury in Paris. The first and second place teams will be announced on 19 June, at the Le Bourget Airshow where Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO will present the prizes. The winning team will receive a first prize of 30,000 euros whilst the runner-up will receive 15,000 euros. An additional prize of 5,000 euros will be given to the team who is chosen by Airbus employees for the "Employees Choice" prize. The additional award will be given to the team who is selected as having the best video from among the teams not selected for the final.

The jury is comprised of five internationally renowned independent experts and five Airbus representatives, specialised in fields such as engineering, the environment, human resources and marketing.

"Selecting the five teams was incredibly difficult as the projects submitted were very diverse and of high quality. The Fly Your Ideas contest has demonstrated that students from around the world have excellent ideas for the aviation industry of tomorrow," declared Patrick Gavin, Airbus Executive Vice-President Engineering and Fly Your Ideas contest patron.

Airbus, one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers, offers the most modern and comprehensive family of airliners on the market, ranging in capacity from 100 to more than 500 seats. Airbus, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year, has registered over 9,200 orders from more than 300 customers worldwide and delivered more than 5,600 aircraft since the company first entered the market. With annual revenues of over 27 billion euros in 2008, Airbus is a global company employing some 52,000 people from over 80 different nationalities.

More information available on www.airbus-fyi.com/press.

---