NC State students pilot paper wings to first place at Energy Challenge.

Students from North Carolina State University glided to first place at Energy Challenge '03 as they flew their paper glider from the top of an 80-foot dune at Nags Head, North Carolina, USA, on April 5.

In conjunction with the 100th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers First Flight, ten collegiate teams took to the skies and attempted three hang gliding flights each with wings they designed and constructed from paper materials, including corrugated paperboard or linerboard. The students prepared for almost eight months.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Institute of Paper Science and Technology, the Energy Challenge competition encourages innovation, interest in science and engineering, and promotes awareness of energy efficiency, manufacturing design, recycling, waste minimization, and pulp and paper industrial processes. The competition supports DOE's Agenda 2020, a program to enhance the economic competitiveness of the U.S. forest products industry and to help the pulp and paper industry reach the vision of more energy efficient manufacturing processes in the year 2020.

Spartan School of Aeronautics (Tulsa, Okla.) captured second place overall (1st in the Flight Contest) and Temple University finished third overall (2nd in the Flight Contest). The members of the winning team were Jody Moss, Daphne Wang, Josh McCall, Bryan Ransom, Sarah Mertens, Trey Hathaway and Brandon Teague.

"It was great to know the glider could actually fly," said Mertens, also the team's pilot. "Even with all the stress on it, the glider withstood the challenge and the paper didn't tear. "We learned a lot about paper manufacturing working on this project."

Participating teams included North Carolina State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (Greensboro, N.C.), Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Maine, Miami University, Temple University, Savannah College of Art and Design, Spartan School of Aeronautics (Tulsa, Okla.), University of Central Florida and Western Michigan University. The flights accounted for 20 percent of the total points needed to win Energy Challenge = 03. Overall scoring for the event was based on best paper hang glider performance during a distance event, written reports, gross weight, material composition, sail area requirements, tear and tensile strength, moisture resistance, recycle content and novelty of design.