FIA 2012: French over the moon with rocketry result
The final was held yesterday at the Farnborough International Airshow. The competition was held between the three national champions from the US (Madison West High School, Wisconsin), France (Lycee Louis Bleriot) and the UK (The Perse School from Cambridge, sponsored by Chemring and Rolls-Royce), with each team consisting of 3 to 5 teenagers.
The teams had to design, construct and safely launch a rocket carrying two raw hen’s eggs. The rocket was required to reach a height of exactly 800ft and weigh no more than 650 grams. The payload of eggs then had to return unbroken to the ground within 43-47 seconds using only a single parachute.
Lycee Louis Bleriot came first with their rocket reaching an altitude of 822 feet in 43.76 seconds with their payload landing unbroken. Madison West High School came second with their rocket reaching an altitude of 836 feet in 43.8 seconds with their payload landing unbroken and The Perse School came third with their rocket reaching an altitude of 690 feet in 37.5 seconds with their payload landing unbroken.
The Perse School, as winners of the UK Aerospace Youth Rocketry Challenge will be taking up their prize later this summer, travelling to NASA in the USA.
Graham Chisnall, deputy CEO and managing director Aerospace at ADS, said:“The International Rocketry Challenge is an inspirational competition that, thanks to the efforts of our UK sponsors Chemring and Rolls-Royce, bodes well for the future workforce of our aerospace sectors. All the competitors today have demonstrated dedication to success while juggling their lives, normal school work, and in some cases national exams to end up at the final today – an ability which will stand them well throughout their career.”
Pratap Singh (aged 13 years old) member of The Perse School team said:“I really enjoyed the competition and I would really like to do it again. France did very well and put in a lot of effort. Overall it was good to see all of the airplanes and the flying display. Farnborough has been a fantastic experience.”
