In 2024, for the 4th time our team had the opportunity to participate in the Air Cargo Challenge that took place in Aachen, Germany. ACC is an international aviation competition that takes place every two years and is addressed to academic teams composed of students from engineering and science schools. The aim is to build an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), i.e. an aircraft without a pilot, which can fly with the maximum load set by each contest at the maximum possible speed and without exceeding a certain power consumption. Our team has been fortunate enough to participate in previous competitions, winning notable positions and improving the work presented each time, so we were particularly excited to have the opportunity to experience this competition once again.
This year, the aircraft we built was called Astraea and was named after Astraeus and Astraea, two figures of Greek mythology that symbolized the sky and justice accordingly. Specifically, Astraeus was thought to bridge the cosmic world with the Earth, while Astraea, who was his daughter, was the one who guided the lightning bolt to its target and was associated with the concept of justice.
Thus, inspired by Greek mythology, we built a new aircraft with the goal of speed, efficiency and maximum capacity as defined by the competition. The result was an aircraft made of carbon fiber, male foam and female MDF molds that weighed 5.2 kg, reached 114 km/h and could carry up to 2,625 kg. It is also worth noting that the capacity of the plane at this year’s competition was tested with billiard balls, so our aircraft was built in such a way that there was room for the balls to be placed. Specifically, Astraea managed to lift up to 12 balls in flight, while performing all other functions flawlessly.
The team’s efficiency in the construction process was remarkable since it managed, after intensive study and research, to build within a month a fully functional aircraft that made over 40 successful flights, which allowed us to win 8th place in the competition among 32 teams competing from all over the world. It was an experience of a lifetime which, apart from allowing us to showcase our work and our team, enables us to meet new people in the aeronautical field and enrich our knowledge. As a result of the competition, the team members were able to grow closer to each other, which made ASAT even stronger and more efficient.
The most important part for all of us, apart from building effective aircraft and winning major awards in competitions, is the formation of a team that acts as a source of knowledge and helps its members to constantly evolve within a friendly environment that pushes them to spread their wings even further. This year’s ACC competition allowed us to do just that and inspired us to do our best to reach even higher!
So, we’ll see you again in 2026 in Stuttgart, with a new aircraft and new challenges.
