Press Release
18 Jul 2007 - Paper planes take flight at Cranfield
Visitors to the recent Milton Keynes Science Festival put their creative skills to the test in a paper plane competition organised by Cranfield University last Saturday.
The competition challenged young people and adults alike to design and build a plane from A4 recycled paper. Their challenge – to launch a plane further than the 120 feet the Wright Bros managed on their first flight in 1903.
And although nobody achieved this feat, John Beedell managed an amazing 28.2 m (92.5 ft), outstripping the competition by a good few metres. He won a real flying lesson from one of the country’s top training schools Cabair.
Second place went to local businessman Jeremy Chatfield, and third place to schoolboy Liam Hallett. Both won the opportunity to fly virtually in the cockpit of the University’s Flight Deck Simulator.
Cranfield University opened its doors as part of the Festival to highlight research about the environment and climate change. A steady stream of visitors joined academics throughout the day, attending presentations and demonstrations.
They got hands-on with a number of interactive facilities, including the Soil Net website www.soil-net.com developed by staff at the University’s National Soil Resources Institute, and a virtual reality tour of an environmentally friendly airliner.
ENDS
Further information
Cranfield University is one of Western Europe’s largest academic centres for strategic and applied research, development and design. It is unique in its entirely postgraduate focus. The university is made up of three campuses Cranfield, Silsoe and Shrivenham:
- Cranfield: Cranfield School of Management, School of Applied Sciences & School of Engineering.
- Silsoe:Cranfield Health. (Note: Silsoe’s Environmental Courses are now operated via School of Applied Sciences on the Cranfield Campus. Health courses will relocate over the coming 18 to 24 months).
- Shrivenham: The Defence College of Management and Technology.
For further information please contact: Rebecca Edwards, Press Officer, Cranfield University, tel: +44 (0) 1234 754999 or Charlotte Kendrick, Press Officer, Cranfield University, tel: +44 (0) 1234 752987
Press Office – Marketing Services
Building 45
Cranfield University
Cranfield
Bedfordshire MK43 0AL
Tel: +44 (0) 1234 754999
Fax: +44 (0) 1234 754990
Email: pressoffice@cranfield.ac.uk
Website: www.cranfield.ac.uk
Press release number: PR-018-07
