The contest called for the design of a large VTOL aircraft that would balance sustained hover operations with high-speed and high-altitude cruise capabilities.

The “Raven 4” achieves this ambitious result with a design blending a jet-propelled fixed-wing aircraft endowed with two folding rotors mounted on the wings to provide vertical flight capability.

This achievement continues the long-standing success story of our Aeronautical Engineering MSc students in international design competitions (see https://www.aero.polimi.it/en/student-competitions ↗ ).

A story that culminated in 2022, truly a golden year with three top rankings (see https://alumni.polimi.it/2023/06/08/gli-studenti-del-poli-sono-tra-i-migliori-al-mondo-a-progettare-aeroplani/ ↗):

• Team “Colibr-e Sapphire”, made up of Luca Bottà, Alessandro Garatti, Andrea Romani, Carlo Spitale and Marco Tomasoni, ranked 1st in the 2021-2022 AIAA Foundation Graduate Team Aircraft Design Competition” sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for the design of a hybrid-electric STOL air taxi.

• Team “Poli e-Verse Kairos”, made up of Lorenzo Calervo, Riccardo Ferrari, Riccardo Falsetti, Karim Bara, Thomas Zanini and Bruno Zappini, ranked 2nd in the International Light Aircraft Design Contest 2021/22” sponsored by the Royal Aeronautical Society for the promotion of innovative design in light aviation.

• Team “Hexi”, made up of Luca Caccetta, Maria Ieva, Maria Vittoria Rossetti, Nicola Tartari, Matteo Guidotti, Irene Salmoiraghi and Anna Sofia Passarelli d’Onofrio, ranked 3rd in the 2021-2022 AIAA Foundation Graduate Team Aircraft Design Competition”.

Congrats to our students for the great work performed and the high level of knowledge and skills demonstrated once again in these amazing challenges!

For more info, visit:
https://vtol.org/news/press-release-2023-student-design-winners ↗