Qinetiq Zephyr IET Product Design Award winner 2011

A very well deserved for the Boscombe boys and girls and amazing aircraft that flew for 14 days straight from the drawing board.

The judging panel commented:

This design ticks all the boxes – social impact, novelty, inventiveness and it could have a dramatic impact economically. The entire aircraft design has been considered and optimised – power, weight, sensors, propulsion in order to make the prospect of ‘near-eternal’ flight a realistic possibility. High altitude performance in the presence of varying thermals and pressures has been achieved. On top of this, it has already captured the world record for the longest duration flight of an unmanned aircraft (over two weeks) and has redefined what was believed to be achievable. A clear winner.