VALENCIA, Apr. 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The ‘Stingray’ aircraft from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) is one of the five European prototypes selected to participate in the SAE Aero Design West in Texas (United States), “the most important competition in the world”, from 14 to 16 of April.
After obtaining first prize in the maximum spherical load transported in the regular category in Los Angeles (United States) in 2022, the UPV aircraft will compete this year in a higher category.
The test will involve 72 teams representing 12 countries, including the United States, China, Canada and India.
Stingray was born from a group of students belonging to the Spontaneous Generation program of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, creators of the AeroDesign project in 2021. Made up of 40 students from different degrees –Aerospace Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Energy, Geomatics and Topographic Engineering, Design Engineering, Business Administration and Management–, have designed and manufactured in record time an innovative prototype with a wingspan of 2.4 meters and a weight of only 12 kilograms.
An “achievement”, the autonomous flight aircraft, which has had the full support of the UPV since its inception, headed by Esther Gómez, Vice-Rector for Students and Entrepreneurship, and Fanny Collado, Director of Spontaneous Generation, and fifteen sponsors: Superior Technical School of Design Engineering, Institute of Thermal Engines, Ministry of Sustainable Economy, Productive Sectors, Commerce and Labor of the Generalitat Valenciana, Clipcarbono, Castro Composites, RC Innovations, Decoman, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials, Siemens, nTopology, Ansys, Einhell, ONKLUB, Symula and Viajes Vulcano.
The team, supervised by professors Pedro Quintero and Andrés Tiseira, has been led by students Juan Carlos Miralles, Laia Torres, Pablo Norcyzk and Mercedes Boyero.
The creators of Stingray have tried to innovate in many ways, such as reducing environmental impact through generative design that allows light amounts of materials used and decreases the net carbon footprint over the lifetime of the aircraft.
The SAE Aero Design West in Texas (United States) consists of two tests. The first, already successfully completed via videoconference, was the presentation and oral defense of the prototype’s technical report.
The second will be several flight tests in Forth Worth (Texas, USA) to which ten students will attend, including the pilot Pablo Flor, bronze medalist in the Spanish Championship of racing drones in 2021 and a world-wide expert in freestyle , and where they will carry out logistical, manufacturing, aircraft assembly, marketing and flight tests.
