The Flying Start Challenge is a

contest Contest may refer to: * Competition * Will contest * Contesting, amateur radio contesting (radiosport) Film and television * ''Contest'' (2013 film), an American film * Contest (1932 film), a German sports film * " The Contest", a 1992 season ...

run by

Aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astr ...

businesses and organisations in the South West of England for local secondary schools to help develop science and

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

skills whilst highlighting the opportunities available in a career in engineering. The Challenge has been running for more than a decade, involving more than 500 students from 30+ schools. The sponsoring companies are

Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: ' ...

Atkins Atkins may refer to: Places in the United States * Atkins, Arkansas, a city * Atkins, Iowa, a city * Atkins, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Atkins, Nebraska, an unincorporated community * Atkins, Virginia, a census-designated place * ...

GKN Aerospace GKN Ltd is a British multinational automotive and aerospace components business headquartered in Redditch, England. It is a long-running business known for many decades as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. It can trace its origins back to 1759 an ...

, BAE Systems,

MBDA MBDA is a European multinational developer and manufacturer of missiles.MBDA Inc. US Division Co ...

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

and

Safran Landing Systems Safran Landing Systems, formerly Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, is a French company involved in the design, development, manufacture and customer support of all types of aircraft landing gear, wheels and brakes and a wholly owned subsidiary of Safran S ...

. The Challenge is open to pupils in Years 7 to 9 who are organised into teams of 4 with the aim of "designing and building a hand-launched glider made from sustainable materials". Each team is supported by graduates, apprentices and trainees from the sponsor companies, with lessons on design, manufacture and testing, in addition to some practical advice on their glider designs. Each team has the opportunity to fly their glider at a Regional Finals. Teams will be judged both on the distance flown and on a poster presentation detailing the design decisions made. Regional Finals are held in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with ...

. The winning teams from the Regional Final progress to the Grand Final held at the Fleet Air Arm Museum at

Yeovilton Yeovilton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Yeovilton and District, in Somerset, England, east of Ilchester and north of Yeovil, in South Somerset district. The parish had a population of 1,226 in the 2011 census, es ...

. The teams take part in a series of engineering challenges organised by the companies involved and compete to be named the best team. The winning team receive free glider flights with the winning school awarded a voucher for £1000 of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ( STEM) equipment. Second place receives £500, third place £250.

References

External links

The Flying Start Challenge Official WebsiteFlying Start Challenge Twitter
Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom Engineering education in the United Kingdom Educational projects Secondary schools in England Science and technology in Gloucestershire Science and technology in Somerset United Kingdom educational programs Youth science {{UK-edu-stub