Mangaluru: The Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management has taken the initiative to widen the innovative prospects in the field of aeronautics. Students of all grades from colleges across the country came to attend the two-day National Level Aeromodelling competition “AEROPHILIA 2018”, an annual event on January 26 and 27, held at the Sahyadri Campus, Mangaluru.

This competition provides a platform to the students to showcase their talents and pursue their passion in a field that is very unique and provide eclectic opportunities. Apart from aeromodelling, various other events were conducted during Aerophilia, like drone race, water rocket, chuck glider, Rubik’s cube, paper plane, treasure hunt, PC games and photography. Students from all over took part in this competition. A total of 105 participants and 50 teams participated in the competition.

Group Capt. Colin Mahendra Babu and M J Augustin were the chief guests at the inaugural programme. Augustin declared the Aerophilia 2018 air show open. Vice Principal S S Balakrishna presided over the function and thanked the chief guests for being a part of the event. Vishal Rao from Kinetic Hobies, was the guest of honour. Chairman Manjunath Bhandary and trustees Devadas Heggade and Jagannath Chowta, Principal Dr. Umesh N Bhushi and Administrator Dr. C K Manjunath, were also present at the air show. The guests shared their experience and knowledge regarding their profession and about the Aerophilia event.

The Aerophilia 2018 airshow was performed by Abdullah Gaseem and Eessa Saeed. It was open to the public and all students on January 26. The air show provided a multitude of learning experiences in mathematics, history, arts/graphics and science.

The Aerophilia 2018 winners will be honoured with cash prizes of Rs 2,75,000. This event has attracted the nation’s aeromodelling enthusiasts to Mangaluru. Apart from aeromodelling, the college has another exciting surprise for this year, one of India’s finest Drone Race with a cash prize of Rs 50,000.

The competition will be held on both the days at the Sahyadri campus and the participating teams are expected to design a radio controlled aircraft with the limitations regulated in its dimension and the power system for the main event aeromodelling. The aircraft is validated by its manoeuvrability and maximum payload carrying capacity, which will be tested in three successive rounds. Special attractive air shows will be performed by the national and international radio flyers of repute. IITs and NITs, the elite institutions of our nation are expected to participate in this competition.

The highlights of the event are:

• Fixed Wing and 3D Helicopter Airshow by a professional team of 5 from India and Dubai.
• Eminent guests from DRDO, Air force, ISRO and IISc.
• Attractive cash prize for Aeromodelling, Drone Race and other competitions.

The expected spectators and participants in total are about 1000-1500 students from various institutes of India. Eminent delegates will share their expertise in their domain interest thereby enlightening the participants.

This event is organised by Team Challengers of Sahyadri College of Engineering & Management, a group of students passionate about Aeronautics and Robotics. Experienced students who have participated in SAE International Aero Design Competition 2016 and 2017 held at Fort Worth, Texas, and Lakeland, Florida, USA, Boeing Aero Modeling Competition and various other aeromodelling competitions comprise the organising committee and the future prospects remain the same with more innovative ideas.