In the competition, Aksantara ITB sent two teams to compete in two different categories, Fixed Wing and Rotary Wing. The team for Fixed Wing, Gana Raksaka, consisted of 6 students. They were Dewa Mahardika (Telecommunication Engineering 2017), M. Ilman Nuryakusumah (Aerospace Engineering 2015), Raynald Masli (Aerospace Engineering 2015), Edbert Ongko (Telecommunication Engineering 2015), Rama Rahardi (Telecommunication Engineering 2017), and Dimas Apeco Putera (Engineering Physics 2016)

The team for Rotary Wing, Traya Vata, consisted of 7 students. They were Rhenetou Virginio (Electrical Engineering 2015), Aji Sumbaga (Engineering Physics 2015), Muhammad Hilmi (Telecommunication Engineering 2015), M. Falih Akbar (Electrical Engineering 2016), Dimas Yoga Pratama (Electrical Engineering 2015), Alif Ijlal Wafi (Informatics 2015), and Akbar Aji Baskoro (Entrepreneurship 2016).

Dewa Mahardika, one of the members of Gana Raksaka said that in the competition, each participant had to finish three missions of each aircraft. The first mission was to fly manually through waypoints designated by the committee and then made a 360 degree flip.

The second mission was flying automatically while carrying a ball and dropped it into the provided box. The last mission was flying automatically from take-off to landing position with precision following the designated line. Aksantara ITB exceled with the Fixed Wing and finished all three missions.

During the competition, Aksantara went through two selection phases, conceptual design submission and design details. Conceptual design is the explanation of the concept in the form of the report on the designed aircraft. After passing the phase, finalists have to go through next selection phase that is detailed report of the design and elaborate the plan to the smallest detail.

In every process, from the designing to the final in Turkey, each team was mentored by a lecturer. Fixed Wing team was mentored by Mochammad Agoes Moelyadi as a lecturer from Flight Physics Research Group of Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (FTMD), while Rotary Wing team was mentored by Dr. Widyawardana Adiprawita ST, MT from Biomedical Engineering Research Group of School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (STEI).

“We got not only mentorship before the competition began, but also motivations that made us confident and won the 2nd place,” Dewa said.

He advised fellow students to be determined in going through the process. If there is any obstacle, face it and never give up. “We almost gave up several times, but in the end we did it. Do not forget that X factor exists, and God decides,” Dewa said.

Reporter: Qinthara Silmi Faizal