Student’s Aircraft Design Takes Off

An aircraft designed by a student which is capable of flying to 95,000 ft into space with passengers has been successfully flown by pilots using a simulator – and scooped its creator a prize for most innovative design in a national competition.

Joseph Watts, of Hinckley, Leicestershire, designed the plane using a simulator at Glyndŵr University’s Wrexham campus as part of final year studies for his degree in aeronautical engineering.

Designed to be a tourist aircraft providing the same opportunity to the public as the Virgin Galactic project, Joseph’s aircraft took a year to plan and design.

It was named most innovative design in a competition run by the Merlin Flight Simulator Group, one of the world’s leading flight simulator manufacturers.

Joseph said: “It’s still incredibly expensive for people to travel to space. I wanted to design something which had the potential to give ordinary people the opportunity of experiencing a once in a lifetime view at around 95,000 feet, around three times the height of conventional, commercial aircraft.

“At this height you can clearly view the curvature of the Earth, the blue halo and the blackness of space.

“It was quite challenging – to achieve a successful flight at this high an altitude, a large lifting surface is required – so the design has four wings. Another distinctive feature is the lack of a separate tail-plane,” added Joseph.

“But the unusual unique design does not compromise the comfort and usability of the cabin, and consequently offers a new innovative tourism opportunity.”

The annual aircraft and design competition run by the Merlin Flight Simulation Group provides students from universities which have purchased one of its simulators with the opportunity to create their own aircraft and have them tested by experienced, qualified pilots.

Joseph’s plane was put through rigorous tests – and flown successfully – by Dave Southwood, fixed wing tutor at the Empire Test Pilots School, Boscombe Down, and Paul Mulcahy, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Chief Test Pilot.

The other judges were Barry Swainston, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and Dr David Philpott, a senior transonice aerodynamics engineer.

Steve Byrne, senior lecturer in engineering at Glyndŵr University, said: “We were delighted to see Joseph win the award for most innovative design. It shows the creativity of our students and the scope of what they can achieve during their studies using the simulator.

“The flight simulator really is a fantastic facility for our students which allows them to create their own aircraft from concept through to testing.”