Building the Flight Testing Crew of the HORYZN Student Competition Team-Approach and Lessons Learned

With increasing numbers of established companies and start-ups pushing into the market for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), e.g. for cargo delivery, the demand for graduates capable of and experienced in flight testing UAVs is increasing. Current flight testing classes typically focus on manned aircraft and therefore fall short of supplying the demand, since UAV flight testing bears several unique aspects. In October 2019, the HORYZN student initiative was formed in order to build a vertical take-off and landing UAV with a payload of 2 kg for participation in the New Flying Competition hosted in Hamburg, Germany, in October 2020. With little prior exposure to UAVs or even remote-controlled (RC) aircraft, the students built profound expertise in flight testing necessary to field an UAV and successfully performed a ranked flight in a competition setting. The group can therefore serve as a case study of teaching students the ability to test UAVs and serve as an example for groups aspiring to conduct flight tests in their research activities.