Winners Named in FAI Young Artist Aircraft Contest

Contestants were asked to design their perfect airplane.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, July 05, 2022 at 11:51 AM ET

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Michelle Lee's winning project in the intermediate category. [Courtesy: FAI]

Key Takeaways:

The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) announced the winners of its Young Artists Contest, themed "Design your perfect aircraft," which encouraged nature-inspired designs considering power, size, and special features.
The international competition featured children aged 7-18 from various countries (e.g., China, India, U.S., Japan, Poland), who competed in three age categories after winning national selections.
Top gold medalists included Haruto Hirayama (Japan, Junior), Michelle Lee (U.S., Intermediate), and Ruka Oji (Japan, Senior), with several winners, like Haruto Hirayama and Milena Bak, having previous contest successes.

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The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale has announced its winners in the Young Artists Contest. This year’s theme was “Design your perfect aircraft.”

The contestants’ designs were inspired by nature, as they were asked to create something they would like to see in the sky, and had to consider what would power the aircraft, its size, and what special features would make pilots and passengers excited to be in the air.

The international contest is open to children between the ages of 7 and 18. This year’s field featured representatives from China, India, Latvia, the U.S., Japan, Finland, Lithuania, Poland, and Switzerland who each won their respective national competitions. The students compete in three categories depending on their age.

This year’s winners include a gold medal win from Japan’s Haruto Hirayama, who also won a gold in 2021. Regular participant Milena Bak from Poland was awarded a bronze medal this year, having taken home bronze and silver medals in previous competitions. Michelle Lee from the U.S. took gold in the intermediate category, whilst another entrant from Japan–Ruka Oji–was awarded gold amongst the senior artists.