On 11 November 2014, five HKUST students (Haoran Chen, Chi Cheung Choi, Michelle Jia Ying Lee, Yuyang Xie and Yuanhang Zhu) from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) received second-prize for their light sport aircraft design, ‘Soaring Dragon’, at the 10th Airshow China in Zhuhai.

This is the first competition hosted by Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and two of their subsidiaries - China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Company and their general aircraft operation arm, AVIC Club. This competition has attracted more than 153 teams from top Educational Institutes and AVIC Research Centers in China. All entries were reviewed by experts and professionals from different companies and institutions, and only 6 teams were selected to enter the final round. The team from HKUST was tied at second-prize with one other team, ranking just behind one grand prize recipient. Currently, a 1:10 scaled model of their design is on display at the 10th Airshow China - China’s largest international air-show.

With reference to the courses offered by the Aeronautical Engineering Minor Program, aeronautical knowledge and calculations were applied during the design process of the ‘Soaring Dragon’. Extensive research was also performed on the state of the art light sport aircraft designs. The ‘Soaring Dragon’ is a 2-seater amphibious aircraft, featuring a pair of hydrofoils at the bottom, which effectively decreases the take-off distance of the aircraft. The foldable wing design allows easy ground transport of the aircraft and the downward folding wing tip offers water detection warning to the pilot.

The students in the team are part of the MAE Department’s Aeronautics Interest Group (AIG), a student-initiated interest group that shares great passion towards aeronautics and aerospace. Other students from AIG have also been continuously participating in aeronautics-related competitions, such as the Design Build and Fly competition hosted by the AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) and the Fly Your Ideas competition hosted by Airbus; demonstrating a high level of enthusiasm towards aeronautics.