Huge Crowd Witness Avionic Fete ‘Aerophilia 2017’ at Sahyadri College
Mangaluru: Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management-Adyar, in the outskirts of Mangaluru has taken the initiative to widen the innovative prospects in the field of aeronautics. “Aerophilia 2017”, a national level Aero-modelling competition and Air Show organized by Team Challengers of Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management attracted a huge crowd, which kicked off on 27 January and will culminate on 28th of January,2017. This is the second time Team Challengers is organizing ‘Aerophilia’ which was initiated in 2016.Though, in the beginning the event attracte less number of participants, but the response now is way beyond organizers expectations. “It was the driving force that led us to conduct this event on a massive scale- and this gave rise to ‘Aerophilia 2017’, said a organizing team member..
This event began with an inauguration ceremony which took place at 9:15 am and was enlightened by the presence of chief Guest, J.T Radhakrishna, Director at Mangalore International Airport along with other eminent dignitaries namely- Prof. B.R Kulkarni (Flight lieutenant Professor who is currently working in Goa Engineering college), Rajanikanth Shashtri (A former Intel Manager graduated from IIT Bombay, working at Software solution provider for FAB Labs in USA), Prof B.N Karkera (A scientist from BARC who is a director at KGRCS, Sahyadri), M R Vasudeva (A former director in Mangalore International Airport), Mrs Padmavathi (Scientist/Engineer at Aeronautical Development Agency, Bengaluru), Dr M S Bhatt(Former distinguished scientist VSSE,ISRO and Adjunct faculty, NITK Suratkal).
The inaugural ceremony was carried out by launching the aircraft giving throttle. The chief guest addressing the gathering gave valuable pieces of information and knowledge to students regarding the complexities in the aeronautical field. Followed by the inauguration ceremony, Aero-modelling and Drone race competition, a major part of the event commenced. This competition comprised of 2 rounds wherein the first round was conducted on 27 January. The competition was evaluated on the basis of certain tasks that the participants had to successfully complete in order to qualify to the second round. By the end of the morning sessions, in Aero-modelling there were 11 participants who had competed in the first round of their initial attempt. In the case of Drone race, there were 5 participants completing their first rounds out of which 2 teams were able to qualify for the second round.
Comperes of the event Neville Rodrigues and Ragavendra kept the crowd mesmerized by their talks and stunts. P.C Pant, Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force addressed the gathering wherein he provided guidance to the young minds about the opportunities in Aviation industry for engineers and spoke about different ways by which they can pursue their dreams and aspirations in aviation. The major highlight of the event was the Airshow performed by Abdullah Ghasem Salehnezhad Moarafi, a UAE resident and an employ at Dubai customs along with Essa Saeed Essa Binaynouh , who is an employ in the Dubai Police
Team Challengers of Sahyadri College of Engineering & Management are a group of students passionate about Aeronautics and Robotics. These are the experienced students who have participated in SAE International Aero Design Competition 2016 held in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, Boeing Aero Modeling Competition and various other aero modelling competitions, and the future prospects remain the same with a more innovative idea. This competition has provided a platform to the students to showcase their talents and pursue their passion in a field that is very unique and provide eclectic opportunities to be in terms as par with the other developed countries.
The air show provided a multitude of learning experiences in mathematics, history, arts/graphics and science. Apart from Aero-modelling, on 28th January 2017 there will be a KITE show from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm at Sahyadri Campus. The Aerophilia 2017 winners will be honored with cash prizes worth Rs1,45,000. This event has attracted the nation’s aeromodelling enthusiasts to Mangaluru. Apart from Aero-modelling, another exiting surprise for this year, is ‘India’s first Drone Race’ with the cash prize worth Rs 50,000. Technical talks were delivered by the chief guests on the importance of RC Modeling, the various career paths available and the importance of aero modelling in the development of the nation.
Participating teams in the contest were expected to design a radio controlled aircraft with the limitations regulated in its dimension and the power system. The aircraft is validated by its maneuverability and maximum payload carrying capacity, which will be tested in two successive rounds. Special attractive air shows will be performed by National and International radio flyers of National repute. IITs and NITs – the elite institutions of India also participated in this competition. The two flyers from Dubai — Abdullah Jaseem, and Essa Binaynouh enthralled the crowd flying the NX7 Gaui plane. Mangalore Flyers Club members also stole the show with their Radio Controlled aero-planes entertaining the crowd with spectacular feats. Ticarno, Adarsh-Helicam are a couple of the aero-models displayed, among other models.
The highlights of the event were: Virtual appearance by Dr. Parimal Kopardekarfrom NASA Ames Research centre; Fixed Wing and 3D Helicopter Airshow by a professional team of five from India and Dubai; Eminent guest from DRDO, Airforce, ISRO and IISc. Eminent delegates coming from various countries who shared their expertise in their domain interest thereby enlightening the efforts of the organizers are: Prof. B.R. Kulkarni, a Flight Lieutenant Professor who is currently working in Goa Engineering College; Er. Rajanikanth Shashtri, a former Intel Manager graduated from IIT Bombay (1975 EE) currently working at Software Solution Provider for FAB Labs in USA; Prof. B.N. Karkera,a scientist from BARC who is a directorate KGRCS, Sahyadri; Er. C.J. Jagadeesha, a Scientist from ISRO; M R Vasudeva, a former director at Mangalore International Airport; J T Radhakrishna,director at Mangalore International Airport; PC Pant, a Wing commander from Indian Air Force; Padmavathi, Scientist/Engineer at Aeronautical Development Agency, Bengaluru; Abdullah Ghasem Salehnezhad Moarafi, employee at Dubai Customs; and Essa Saeed Essa Binaynouh, employee at Dubai Police