It Flies! USA 2023

It Flies! USA 2023 was held on Saturday, April 15 at the University of Dayton, School of Engineering in Dayton, Ohio. Judged by Test Pilots Gary Konnert, Frank Delsing and Aaron Tucker, the competition drew an interesting and varied selection of aircraft designs from university students, which were flown and assessed on The University of Dayton’s MP521 flight simulator.  Society of Flight Test Engineers representative Troy Hoeger judged the project presentation section.

The competition awards prizes in two categories: Best Flight Handling and Best Project Presentation.

Best Flight Handling

1. First Prize: The University of Cincinnati with their supersonic business jet, designed to operate at subsonic and supersonic fight regimes, received $800 from the Merlin Flight Simulation Group.
2. Second Prize: Mississippi State University with their FAF-10, a large four engine aircraft designed to combat fires. 

Best Presentation

1. First Prize: Mississippi State University with their amphibious aircraft designed to carry 19 passengers and 2 crew members.
2. Second Prize: Mississippi State University with their fire fighter aircraft.
3. Third Prize: The University of Manchester with their 6th generation fighter jet.

The University of Manchester also won the Prize for the Most Innovative Design.

...the competition is more than just a chance to win a trophy. It was a launchpad for developing vital skills in teamwork, project management, and communication that are essential for success in the aerospace field and we are very grateful to be part of this.
For students seeking to make their mark in the aviation industry, the 'IT FLIES' competition is an unparalleled opportunity for students to spread their wings and fly.

~ Karim Hassan, University of Manchester

Photo Credit: Havana Glover, UD political science and communications student

It Flies!  USA 2022

University of Dayton team takes first place at international flight simulation competition

On April 23, the University of Dayton Pelican Team members: Andrew Killian, Luke Duncan and Mauricio Hernandez came in first place with their aircraft design at the IT Flies international flight simulation competition.

According to Dr. Sid Gunasekaran, University flight simulation lab director, “They designed the Pelican, an aerial fire bomber aircraft with a blended wing body (BWB) configuration that satisfies the niche requirements in this aircraft type as part of my MEE 425 Aircraft Design class in the fall of 2021 and then entered it in the spring competition.”

Professional test pilots and the UD teams, faculty, and staff were present at the School of Engineering Flight Simulation Lab to host the virtual competition via Zoom.

Best Flight Handling 

• First Prize: The University of Dayton Team Pelican: Killian, Duncan and Hernandez with their LAM Pelican, received $800 from the Merlin Flight Simulation Group.
• Second Prize: Mississippi State University with Skywalker with their twin engine turboprop executive aircraft.

Best Presentation 

• First Prize: The University of Dayton Team NMA: Colin Fletcher and Andrew Killian with their mid-sized twin engine airliner, received $200 from the Merlin Flight Simulation Group.
• Second Prize: Mississippi State University with their advanced tactical aircraft.

"The test pilots were surprised by the quality of the aircraft models that competed this year. All teams put forth well-designed and well-tuned models that satisfied the intended objectives,” said Gunasekaran.

Virtual It Flies!  USA 2021 

According to Sid Gunasekaran, "We used the Zoom platform for the competition where judges, Chris/Marion, and the students participated. We asked the students to create a video presentation of the design to be passed on to the judges."

• Entry 1 - Aquila (University of Manchester) 
• Entry 2 - Sparrow (University of Manchester) 
• Entry 3 - Big Bertha (Mississippi State University)
• Entry 4 - Unsafe Travels (Mississippi State University) 
• Entry 5 - Switchblade (University of Dayton)
• Entry 6 - Bird of Prey (University of Dayton) 

We started the competition with some introductory remarks and then each team had 5 minutes to talk about their design. After the presentation, each team had 5 minutes to answer questions from the audience and the judges. For the flight test, the test pilots arrived in the sim lab during the allotted time based on what team's design they chose to fly. The lab was equipped with a laptop and a webcam where the students talked to the pilots via zoom as well as interacted with the pilots as they flew their airplane. Each team had one hour with the pilot for a pre-flight briefing, answer any questions, interact with pilots in real time and post-flight briefing. Due to the time difference, the UK teams went first, followed by MSU and then UD. After going through all the flights, the judges met via zoom and decided the winners."

• 1st Prize: Sparrow (University of Manchester)
• 2nd Prize: Switchblade (University of Dayton)
• Best Presentation: Big Bertha (Mississippi State University)

It Flies! USA 2019

The 2019 IT Flies competition on Saturday, April 6, 2019, had 8 teams: four from the University of Dayton, one from the University of Manchester, two from the University of South Wales and one from the University of Cincinnati.

First place was shared between the three following teams:

• Ollie Banks, University of South Wales (Turbo prop Flying Boat)
• Nikita Dunaev and Soma Santa, University of Manchester (Single engine lifting body general aviation airplane)
• Andrew Killian and Ryan Simpkins, University of Dayton (A WWI era optimized airplane)

Second place was won by Jielong Cai (Jacky), University of Dayton (General Aviation observation airplane).

According to Dr. Sid Gunasekaran, flight simulation lab director, "The test pilots were impressed with the quality of the airplanes simulated. They mentioned that the competition went from determining whether or not an airplane could take off from the ground to whether or not the handling qualities are simulated to satisfy the required mission."

It Flies! UK 2019

Merlin Flight Simulation Group Aircraft Design And Handling Competition 2019

Held at The University of Manchester on Thursday 6 April, the judges’ comment was that it was the best IT FLIES competition yet. Each entry flew really well, and it was decided that they all deserved a prize. Never has the standard been so high — a real credit to the university students involved and their enthusiasm for anything aero!

Chief Flying Judge, Dave Southwood from ETPS, commented: This year, all of the models entered flew very successfully at the first attempt, with no refinement required by Merlin. The overall best model was one of the very best that I have ever flown in all the years that I have been a judge for IT FLIES. It was very heartening for all of the judges to see the enthusiasm, knowledge and attitude of all of the student teams. The format of the competition has developed over the years and we are confident that it gives the best possible learning opportunities for the students as well as being fun for them and for the judges!

• The winning team is from Manchester, who designed a three lifting surface, twin engine light jet for 5 passengers, and a range of 1500nm, targeted at developing nations with mountainous/rough terrain and short runways.
• Second was HvA, Amsterdam.
• Third was Glyndwr University, Wrexham.
• Most innovative design went to Swansea University with their extreme altitude mountain rescue rotorcraft.
• Best project presentation went to The University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, USA, for their solar powered glider.

Our flying judges were Dave Southwood and Gordon McClymont, and our presentation judge, Dr. David Philpott. Our many thanks to them and to the staff and students at The University of Manchester who helped enormously. Our sponsors this year were the Royal Aeronautical Society's Flight Simulation Group, and The Aviation Historian magazine. Very many thanks to them both for supporting us again!