51Âþ»­

High flying students from 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­) have won an award in an international aviation competition, recognising how far they’ve come as a team.

Haris and 51Âþ»­ Merlin team members accepting their award

Competing as , they are one of just 38 student teams worldwide to take part in the , hosted annually by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) to develop and inspire the next generation of professionals.

Being recognised by IMechE with the is testament to the team’s improvement over the course of the four years that 51Âþ»­ has taken part in the competition.

Their promising UAS (unmanned aerial system) design was also awarded a £300 RS Grass Roots grant this year – building on the £250 they received last year - and the team was awarded an Operational Supportability Award in 2022, recognising their conduct on the ground leading up to take-off.

Sue with the team and UAS before take-off

Sue Shelton, a technical instructor in Aeronautical Engineering at 51Âþ»­, said: “This year’s recognition represents the significant improvements we’ve made, from not getting our aircraft off the ground three years ago, to having a fully built aircraft with working drop doors and capable of manual flight.

“As well as my support, the students have been supported by Dr Weigang Yao and the wider aeronautical academic body, which has been great for them. The competition is a real opportunity for students to apply the theory they’re learning in a hands-on, practical way.”

The challenge requires teams to design and build a UAS with a maximum take-off mass of 10kg. The aircraft needs to operate automatically and carry out a series of tasks during a defined route, such as an area search, navigating waypoints, accurately dropping off an aid package and returning to base.

The team building their aircraft on the day 

Points are scored for design and development, as well as for the flying demonstrations and business case presentations which took place at the British Model Flying Association in Buckminster in July.

Made up of students from a range of disciplines – including engineering, computing, business and marketing - 51Âþ»­ Merlin is led by second-year Mechanical Engineering student Haris Ghaffar.

Haris’ responsibilities include making sure the team operates withing the competition’s rules and safety regulations, as well as ensuring members are clear about their roles and have the support they need to carry them out.

The 22-year-old from Leicester, said: “It’s such an enjoyable challenge to be involved in, where you get to apply your knowledge to a real-world scenario and have fun along the way.

“It exposes you to challenges you can’t simulate in a classroom and it’s also a chance to make new friends by getting to know the other competing teams.

“I’m really proud that we ranked 17th overall this year, which is just higher than the halfway point, and I’ll be even happier if we do better next year.”

For final-year Aeronautical Engineering student Rainer Pereira, being part of 51Âþ»­ Merlin is what has motivated him to stay on to study a master’s at 51Âþ»­. “I’ve loved being part of the team and the UAS Challenge so much, that I wasn’t ready to leave it behind yet,” said the 21-year-old from Portugal.

As the team’s lead designer for the wings and fuselage, Rainer was responsible for supervising other members’ designs, maintaining quality control and ensuring everything connected together.

He said: “The biggest challenge was the sheer complexity of it, but we learned from last year’s mistakes and took on board great ideas from our new team members. Take-off was the highlight of the challenge for me – we promised ourselves we’d achieve it this year and it was a proud moment.”

Second-year Aeronautical Engineering student Ruhaan Gandharva was persuaded to join 51Âþ»­ Merlin by Rainer and was the team’s storage container lead.

The 21-year-old from India said: “As a newcomer I really didn’t know what to expect. When I walked into the workshop and saw the aircraft, it was astonishing, and I knew I had to be part of this team.

“The experience has helped me get a better understanding of what it takes to build an aircraft and it was a really good learning curve. I’m going into my final-year feeling a lot more prepared.

“Being part of the team isn’t all about just working though. It’s about having fun and making friends in a really friendly environment. I’d recommend it to anyone.”