The 2017 Helicopter/Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Systems/Aircraft Readiness Engineering Workshop, a yearly collaboration between the Connecticut and North Carolina Space Grant Consortia, kicked off on June 18th and concluded June 23rd. This year It was held at  Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut with students from North Carolina, Massachusetts, West Virginia, California, and Connecticut who participated.  Along with classroom instruction on aerodynamics and helicopter and UAV flight behavior and operation, the students visited Sikorsky and Pratt and Whitney for a tour of their facilities.  Workshop participants designed and constructed radio controlled coaxial helicopters, then on the last day, tested their flight capabilities through a series of in-flight maneuvers. The ability to perform a vertical take off and landing was also a part of the design, build and flight evaluation.

Below are the names of the students who attended with their institutional affiliation, area of study and home state.

Christopher Adiletta
Housatonic Community College; Engineering; Connecticut

Tanner Beszterczei
North Carolina State University; Mechanical Engineering; North Carolina

Adhikara Budhyhartono
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Aeronautical Engineering; California

John Bush
Pierpont Community and Technical College; Aviation Maintenance; West Virginia

Andrew Champagne
Housutonic Community College, Mathematics; Connecticut

Rebecca Cipriani
Three Rivers Community College; Nuclear Technology; Connecticut

Nichole Dineson
Housutonic Community College, Engineering Science; Connecticut

Theron Gill
Elizabeth City State University; Aviation Science; North Carolina

Christopher Hollaway
Central Connecticut State University; Manufacturing Engineering Technology; Connecticut

Jeremy Hopwood
Central Connecticut State University; Mechanical Engineering; Connecticut

Olivia Hussey
Quinebaug Valley Community College; Engineering Sciences; Connecticut

Dana Lamberton
University of North Carolina; Applied Physics; North Carolina

Raven Lauer
North Carolina State University; Aerospace Engineering and History; North Carolina

Akshay Kadhiresan
Cornell University; Mechanical Engineering; Massachusetts

Elias Levinson
University of Vermont; Mechanical Engineering; Massachusetts

Christian Lightbourne
North Carolina A&T State University; North Carolina

Thomas Pham
Central Connecticut State University; Mechanical Engineering Technology; Connecticut

David Rosenfield
University of North Carolina; Mechanical Engineering; North Carolina

Andrew Tingley
Quinebaug Valley Community College; Engineering Sciences; Connecticut

Meredith Tooley
North Carolina State University; Aerospace Engineering; North Carolina