On Monday, August 3rd, more than 45 Summer interns and co-ops descended upon Stratford to participate in the 4th Annual Research & Engineering Inter/Co-op Summer Competition. The design competition is an annual event under the direction of Chris Van Buiten with Jonathan Hartman that challenges interns and co-ops to think outside of the box as part of their summer with Sikorsky Aircraft. Held in the Cranford Memorial Conference room at Stratford, this year's contest dared summer interns and co-ops to create a next generation, forward-thinking full scale mock up of the flight controls and pilot interface of the X2 Technology Demonstrator. Previous year's contests have included design of high efficiency wind turbine blades and alternative energy powered rotorcraft. 

Kicking off on June 22nd, 46 interns and co-ops were divided into 7 teams to embark on a test that challenged both their innovation and creativity. Six of the teams competing were based in Stratford and 1 team worked from Sikorsky's Keystone facility in Coatesville, PA. 

In a new twist to this year's competition, each team had the option of submitting a design proposal halfway through the competition, outlining the most creative aspects of their design. Due to the high quality of the submissions, it was decided to provide each team with a small seed grant to defray expenses and help bring their ideas to life for the final review. 

The winning team, Team Rising Stars, consisting of members Daniel Boyd, Daniel Ciaburri, Eryn Klager, Chadney Nixon, Nicholas Rooney and Kate Veccharelli was announced on August 3rd at the final review event which included catered dinner at the Stratford facility. The esteemed panel of judges included Research & Engineering Vice President, Mark Miller, Chief Test Pilot Kevin Bredenbeck, Director of Technology and Innovation Chris Van Buiten as well as several members of the Technical Fellows community. 

"We have been challenging our summer interns and coops with increasingly difficult challenges for the past four years," said Van Buiten. "Despite this rising challenge, we were stunned by the quality of the results this year. The competiton reminds us of what is possible when you challenge and enable brilliant, fearless people. I look forward to seeing these students again either as interns or as full time employees."

The first place team, which came up with the unique idea of a helicopter that is operated by mind control, won a helicopter ride in an S76 aircraft. The 2nd and 3rd place teams were awarded with an opportunity to operate Sikorsky's fixed-base simulator. Other cutting edge design concepts included holographic displays, head tracking helmets, pilot safety and health monitoring solutions and even a concept for a windowless cockpit.

Congratulations to every team that participated in this year's design challenge. We look forward to next year's contest continuing the exciting and innovative tradition of this competition.