Airbus Announces Fly Your Ideas 2011 Competition Finalists

Airbus today unveiled the five student finalist teams for the second Airbus competition (FYI). The shortlisted teams are from Chile, China, India, Malaysia and Sweden. The winner of the challenge 2011 will be announced by Airbus at a special ceremony to be held at the International Paris Airshow-Le Bourget on June 23rd 2011.

The global challenge, which commenced in September 2010, drew entries from more than 2,600 students from 75 countries, who were asked to consider how to develop a greener future for aviation. In total, 315 teams took part. Entries submitted to Airbus reflected the 2011 theme ‘The Environmental Life Cycle’. Students were encouraged to propose an idea related to one stage of the aircraft’s life: design, supply chain, manufacturing, aircraft operations or aircraft end-of-life.

Charles Champion, Airbus’ Executive Vice President, Engineering and FYI Patron, said “I am extremely impressed by the quality of work and high standards demonstrated by all the submissions. All the finalists showed a high calibre of innovation and creativity.”

The finalists are:

· Chile - Team Condor, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María - for their novel alternative design for an aerodynamic speed brake that would recover energy for on-board reuse.

· China - Team Wings of Phoenix, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics - for their suggestion of a ground-based wind power generation system derived from aircraft wakes.

· India - Team O3, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee - for their proposed approach to prevent aircraft icing by the use of water-repelling polymer coatings.

· Malaysia - Team Msia on Mars, Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology - for their idea to use biodegradable materials from Kapok tree fibres for aircraft thermal and acoustic insulation blankets used for aircraft cabins.

· Sweden - Team SSE, Stockholm School of Economics - for their formulation of an ECO points scheme to promote environmentally-friendly flying.

The first prize of €30,000 will be shared by the winning team and the runners up will win €15,000. Additionally, the Spanish team ‘Ecolution’, from the Universidad Pontificia

Comillas de Madrid, was announced winner of the Best Video Prize for the creative and original way they presented their project.

Charles Champion added: “At Airbus research and innovation are long term priorities and it is through innovation that Airbus keeps delivering the best in aviation and improving environmental performance of its aircraft. The competition enables us to engage with the aviation industry experts of tomorrow by providing a forum to inspire and motivate future talent.”

The finalist teams comprise international students from a wide range of study disciplines including mechanical, chemical, materials and mineral, and aerospace engineering as well as the fields of business and management, art and design and economics. A number of teams which entered the competition were made up of a cross-section of nationalities. The Swedish finalist team includes students from Sweden, Turkey, USA, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.

The finalist teams will prepare their presentations with the help of an Airbus Mentor, who has been supporting them since the beginning of Round 2, as well as a member of the academic staff from their educational institution. Throughout the competition, volunteer Airbus Mentors from around the world, worked with entrants to provide project guidance and encourage creativity without contributing to technical expertise.

The five teams will come together in Paris on June 22nd to make their final presentations to the challenge jury, consisting of selected Airbus representatives and high-profile industry experts. The awards ceremony is scheduled for June 23rd, at the International Paris Airshow-Le Bourget.

For further details and to keep up with the competition’s progress, please visit:www.airbus-fyi.com