For immediate release
Brussels, 31 January 2008
Engineers to build COMPOSITE UFO
European Composites Industry Association launches ‘UFO Contest’
The European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA) is launching a competition which challenges teams of
engineering students from across Europe with the goal of designing a flying object made from composite
materials. The competition aims to raise awareness of the benefits of composites in the aerospace industry. The
university teams will compete to test their designs during the Composites Europe 2008 tradeshow on 23–25
September in Essen, Germany. The competition will be judged by a range of professionals and personalities from
the academic world and will be aired live via television.
The challenge is a competition to encourage young engineers to design new and innovative flying objects made
out of composites materials, but still work in the performance department. The students are given the opportunity
to apply their engineering skills and creativity, working in teams to develop real-world solutions.
‘An open competition is an excellent way to identify and hopefully inspire new ideas about composites,” EuCIA
President Volker Fritz said. ‘It will be exciting to see these young engineers test their creative designs. It is a
great opportunity for them to participate first-hand in such a competition, and the experience can spark a passion
for knowledge that will last a lifetime’ said Fritz.
The competition consists of 2 categories of construction materials. The first category is Conventional composite
materials such as glass fibre, carbon fibre, aramid fibre or basalt fibre. The matrix resin may be unsaturated
polyester, vinyl ester or epoxy resin. The second category consists of Composite materials based on natural
raw materials; the reinforcing fibres must have a biological origin, such as flax, hemp, kenaf, jute or similar fibres.
The matrix resin must be based on renewable raw materials. A proof of the origi