Kapuk Fibres For Aircraft Thermal And Acoustic Insulation Blankets

UniKL marked another milestone on May 18, 2011 as its team “Malaysia on Mars” was officially announced as the sole participant representing Malaysia among five other finalist teams from other continents to the final round of International Airbus Fly Your Ideas Competition 2011which will be held in Paris on June 22, 2011.

The competition which commenced in September 2010, drew entries from more than 2,600 students worldwide, who were asked to consider how to develop a greener future for aviation. With the theme ‘The Environmental Life Cycle’, students were encouraged to propose an idea related to one stage of the aircraft’s life: design, supply chain, manufacturing, aircraft operations or aircraft end-of-life.

UniKL’s Malaysia on Mars comprising of three students from UniKL Institute of Product Design and Manufacturing (UniKL IPROM), Ahmad Khairi Ahmad (Bachelor of Engineering Technology Hons. in Business Management), Airull Juhari (Bachelor of Engineering Technology Hons. in Product Design), Wan Nor Hami Wan Isa (Bachelor of Engineering Technology Hons. in Business Management) and a lecturer (Mentor) from UniKL Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology (UniKL MIAT) Assoc. Prof. Ir. Abu Hanifah Abdullah, impressed the judges on their idea to use biodegradable materials from Kapuk tree fibres for aircraft thermal and acoustic insulation blankets for aircraft cabins. 

The team competed against 315 student teams from across 75 countries, successfully passing through eliminating rounds 1 and 2 to get to the final which will be held at Paris Airshow-Le Bourget 2011 in France on June 22. The team will be competing with four other finalist teams from from Chile, China, India and Sweden for the top prize of €30,000 (approximately RM130,000). 

Their final presentation in Paris will be assessed by a panel of judges consisting of selected Airbus representatives and high-profile industry experts. The awards ceremony is scheduled on June 23, 2011 at the International Paris Airshow-Le Bourget. For more details on the competition please visit:Airbus Fly Your Ideas Competition Official Website. 
All the best to UniKL's Malaysia on Mars!

The team: (left - right) Wan Nor Hami Wan Isa, Ahmad Khairi Ahmad, Airull Juhari and the team's Mentor from UniKL Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology (UniKL MIAT) Assoc. Prof. Ir. Abu Hanifah Abdullah. The team proposed the idea of using Kapuk fibres in aircraft thermal acoustic blanket for aircraft cabins.