UMD and GA Tech Capture Top Honor in the 28th Annual AHS/Industry Student Design Competition

American Helicopter Society International Executive Director Michael J.Hirschberg has announced that the University of Maryland came in first-place in the 28th Student Design Competition graduate category with Excalibur, a variable diameter tiltrotor. Georgia Institute of Technology's coaxial compound with ducted auxiliary propulsion titled Odyssey captured second-place honors.

In the undergraduate category, Georgia Institute of Technology's Golden Retriever, a coaxial compound with auxiliary propulsion, won first-place and The Pennsylvania State University came in second with its entrant Phoenix,, also a coaxial compound with auxiliary power. The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur captured the prize for the best new entry with its reconfigurable compound helicopter the RC2.

During this year's competition entries were submitted by a record number of competitors. Thirty judges participated in the review process under the guidance of this year's chair, Mark Dreier, of Bell Helicopter Textron.

Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. was the sponsor of the 28th annual competition which rotates among AugustaWestland, Bell Helicopter Textron,The Boeing Company, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., and Eurocopter.

View the entire Press Release.

Visit the AHS Student Design Competition web site, which includes the Request for Proposals for the 2012 AHS Student Design Competition, that will be sponsored by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. The top-winning entries from the 8th Student Design Competition are also posted on the site.

Published August 25, 2011