ASA and the FAA each year award graduate and undergraduate engineering student teams nationwide for designing simulated general aviation technology breakthroughs and applications. The purpose of these awards is to revitalize the industry and provide quality, real-world experience. The following received this year's awards:

• For the first time in the National General Aviation Design Competition's three years, an individual, Princeton University senior Jennifer Wilson, was given the special $500 award for Greatest Retrofit Potential, sponsored by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's Air Safety Foundation.

• The first place award, $3,000 for the team and $5,000 divided among universities, was given a second time to the University of Kansas, Wichita State University and Kansas State University. They designed a low-cost, four-passenger kit plane, reportedly comparable to a Cessna 172R, using pre-assembled/prefabricated structures to minimize construction time. This was in response to a revised FAA rule that kit-type planes be 50 percent built by the owner without prefabrication.

• The Pennsylvania State University won the $2,000 second place award with critical acclaim for a well-engineered, realistically priced, high-performance aircraft that very well targets general aviation revitalization goals.

• The $1,000 third place prize was awarded to Virginia Polytechnic Institute for designing an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly sport utility aircraft that can take off and land on water.

For more information, contact Mary Sandy at Virginia Space Grant Consortium.
Call 757/865-0726 Email: msandy@pen.k12.va.us

Please mention you read about it in Innovation.