FLY YOUR IDEAS: IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT WINNING!

Meet Vijay Kothari! He was team leader of Team Bucephalus from the Fly Your Ideas 2013 edition. Team Bucephalus made it to Round 2 of the challenge.

“As team leader, I learnt a lot about effective communication, being a team player and about dedication to a project. The most important thing I learnt was to complete tasks on time with no compromise in the quality of the work. Throughout the competition we had continued support from our Airbus Mentor and Expert and this really taught me and my team to interact effectively and efficiently.

Our idea focused on the Efficiency Challenge. As air traffic continues to grow around the world, we need more aircraft to accommodate the demand. This has direct consequences on two of the most important environmental factors i.e. emissions and noise. Emissions can be reduced by cutting fuel consumption through improved aerodynamic efficiency. In the end, we worked on a project that focused on a concept called ‘Starlet’, which aimed to reduce the induced drag on an aircraft and improve the overall aerodynamic efficiency.

I personally believe Fly Your Ideas is not about winning or losing. It’s about thinking outside the box and converting your thoughts and ideas into reality. Fly Your Ideas was a once in a lifetime experience for myself and my team. Taking part in this challenge was a real game changer in my academic life and was one of my best and most cherished experiences to date. The Fly Your Idea competition gave me and my fellow team members an international platform to share our ideas and helped us to grow as young, thriving engineers and entrepreneurs.

Since taking part in Fly Your Ideas, I have completed my studies and I’m now working at GKN Aerospace in Bangalore, India. Fly Your Ideas gave me a real taste of applying my engineering knowledge to real world challenges and I still continue to apply this knowledge and experience throughout my working life today.’