This month of May was really one of the most productive and more interesting for our team. We have initiated the conceptual and detailed designs for the next competition, which takes place in Sao Jose dos Campos in October, and we participated in some aeronautical events. Moreover, we had a illustrious visit to our workshop.

On May 19, the cosmonaut Marcos Pontes came to Sao Carlos to be acquainted with the structure of the Aeronautical Engineering course. At the invitation of Prof. Fernando Catalano, the course’s coordinator, he made a visit to our team’s workshop. We are very honored to have received him and to have shown some of the recent projects we built.

In the last weekend of May, the third Aerodesign Forum was held and EESC-USP Team of Aerodesign did not pass it. We went to Sao Jose dos Campos to pass on to the other teams our experiences in the U.S. and to hear what the other teams had to present. During the same weekend occurred in Itirapina, a nearby town for Sao Carlos, the 10th edition of the Broa Fly-In. The event, which is considered one of the most important for Brazilian aviation, and the EESC-USP’s course of Aeronautical Engineering had its own stand where the various projects developed by students and teachers were divulged.

Our team was not left out, we took our aircraft designed for international competition (see the news below) and it made a sensation despite the beautiful “real life” specimens exhibited on the courtyard; EADS Socata, Pilatus, Super Tucano, Cessna 400, Citation Mustang and many others. We stood between explanations about the project and times when the deafening radial engines of the American T6 from Esquadrilha Oi passed over the hangar where we were installed. In the last days of the event we received a number of distinguished visitors. On Saturday, Gérard Moss (aviator and Swiss researcher) and the Swiss ambassador Rudolf Bärfuss came to be acquainted with our projects.

On Sunday, the creator of Broa Fly-In, the aviator and entrepreneur Fernando Botelho, brought the Brigadier-Lieutenant Juniti Saito, General Commander of Brazilian Air Force, to get to know our stand and to chat with our course’s coordinator. Hours after, the same would happen with Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, who was introduced to us by the entrepreneur, took a few minutes of conversation with Prof. Catalano, and then heard a brief explanation on our team and on the importance of the SAE Aerodesign competition. Increasingly we believe that the image we divulge of a well structured, united and of high technical level team is of fundamental importance for the continuity of our success not only as team of Aerodesign, but also as the professionals who we desire to be.