CREATIVE DREAMS TAKE OFF AT FLYING MACHINE COMPETITION

Like a scene out of a sci-fi movie, a pirate ship soared in the air before gliding on land, and a spacecraft zipped around to the soundtrack of Star Wars.

This took place at the Singapore Amazing Flying Machine Competition (SAFMC) held at the Science Centre.

Organised by DSO National Laboratories and the Singapore Science Centre, the competition invited participants to create flying gadgets under categories such as paper planes, unpowered gliders, radio control flight, semi-automated/automated and unconventional air platforms.

This year's SAFMC, the fourth since 2009, involved over a thousand participants and more than 300 teams from primary schools to the varsity level, and to organisations and members of the public.

Since 5 Mar, the competition has been pitting participants and their flying contraptions against each other, before it culminated in an award presentation ceremony on 17 Mar.

At the ceremony, Minister of State for Defence and Education Lawrence Wong noted that the competition was aimed at providing a platform for Singaporeans to harness the power of their imagination and translate their dreams into reality.

He said: "These qualities are vital in the world of science and technology, where we foray into the unknown and push the boundaries of discovery."

Mr Wong also presented the Championship Awards to winning teams from the five categories, with cash prizes of up to $7,000 per team and electronic gadgets such as the PlayStation Portable and iPad 2. Their flying machines were judged according to criteria such as endurance, precision, acrobatics, creativity and aesthetics.

Among those beaming at the ceremony was Team Hawx Vision from Temasek Polytechnic, whose flying gadget - The Raptor - won them the Best Performance Award (Gold) and the Champions Award (Gold) in the semi-autonomous category.

Team member Yang Shoyn described the capabilities of The Raptor: "It can conduct surveillance because it has a camera mounted on it, and it can also carry and drop payloads."

Earlier during the ceremony, the team demonstrated what The Raptor could do by flying it with a remote control and dropping the 10-gram ball it carried into a specific spot before landing it on a helipad.

When asked what difficulties they faced in the course of the competition, team member Justin Pragash Christopher said: "At first, we had problems deciding what materials to use that would be light enough but still protect our gadget in the event of a crash landing.

"In the end, we decided on carbon fibre, aluminium rods and cable ties because they are lightweight," he added.

On how his experience at the competition helped to fuel his aviation dream, 18-year-old Shoyn, who plans to get a Private Pilot License (PPL) before turning 20, said: "After the PPL, I'll move on to get a Commercial Pilot License.

"I hope that in future, I can fly a fighter jet or be a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) pilot."