The Vertical Flight Society (VFS) today announces the release of its 42nd…and Annual Student Design Competition (SDC) – Call for Proposals.
Annual SDC sponsorship rotates between Airbus, Bell, Boeing, Leonardo, Sikorsky and the US Army Research Lab.
Each year, the VFS competition challenges students to design a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft that meets specific requirements. It provides engineering students at colleges and universities with a hands-on exercise to stimulate their interest in VTOL engineering and technology.
This year’s sponsor is Airbus, and the Request for Proposal (RFP) entitled “Pioneering Hydrogen-Electric VTOL” — is now available for download at www.vtol.org/sdc.
In addition, Airbus is sponsoring the prize money totaling 12,500 US dollars.
Given growing environmental concerns, the aviation industry is striving to reduce its global carbon footprint.
A promising field of research is the use of hydrogen as an energy source instead of fossil fuels. The aim of this year’s call “Groundbreaking hydrogen-electric VTOL” is the conception of an electric VTOL aircraft with fuel cell propulsion based on gaseous hydrogen, which must meet several requirements.
The RFP is a unique opportunity for university teams to understand and address the unique challenges and requirements of a hydrogen-powered VTOL passenger aircraft.
Airbus and VFS encourage universities from around the world to form student teams and participate in this exciting vertical flight project.
Founded in 1943 as the American Helicopter Society, the Vertical Flight Society is a worldwide nonprofit society for engineers, scientists, and others involved in vertical flight technology.
For more than 80 years, the Society has led technical, safety, advocacy and other important initiatives and is the premier forum for the exchange of information on vertical flight technology.
This press release was created and distributed by the Vertical Flight Society.
