Having Fun in the Sky: How Pradyumna Bhat & Team Took First Place at the Boeing National Aeromodelling Competition 2025
Pradyumna Bhat and his team soared above limits—literally—when they clinched first place at the Boeing National Aeromodelling Competition 2025. Their secret weapons? A mix of creativity, caffeine-fuelled late nights, and the bravery to ask, “What if we attach a rubber-band launcher?” This is how they turned model-plane dreams into a trophy-winning reality.
When the Wings Were More Than Just Wings
It all began at the drawing board in Bengaluru: Pradyumna and his mates showed up ready to slice and dice foam wings under the banner of their institute. With 1,400+ students and 432 institutions vying for the crown, the pressure was real.
Pradyumna’s team from Indian Institute of Technology Madras brought a quirky attitude to aerospace engineering—they didn’t just follow rules; they tweaked them. When others were calculating lift, they were brainstorming “How many rubber bands to strap so it springs like a catapult?” It turned out: just enough for first place.
The Secret Ingredients (Yes, One is Snacks)
What made the difference?
• Late-night brainstorming sessions. Sticky notes, pizza boxes, and one vague idea: “If the tail is blue, maybe the judges notice faster.”
• A model that didn’t just fly—it performed. Everything from take-off speed to smooth landing got ticked off. Boeing’s competition required rigorous criteria.
• Team spirit. Pradyumna says they celebrated small victories: “When one wing stood straight on first test—we high-fived like we’d found Atlantis.”
• Snacks. Because when rubber meets foam and midnight hits, caffeine and chips are the unwritten fourth team member.
Victory, Rubber Bands & Realisation
When the winners were announced, Pradyumna’s team jumped up—cheers, camera flashes, and the kind of hug that comes only after conquering foam-fuselages and drag-coefficient nightmares. They took home not just the trophy, but the chance to join Boeing’s apprenticeship programme—meaning one day, they might build real planes, not just models.
Looking back, Pradyumna says: “We started by asking silly questions. Then we asked serious ones. And finally we asked, why not win?” Sometimes, that’s all it takes—a bit of foam, some rubber bands, and a team who says yes when others pause.
In short, Pradyumna Bhat’s journey reminds us that innovation often feels a little wild, always a little messy—and that’s precisely how something flies. When you build with heart (and maybe eat some chips at 2 a.m.), you don’t just make models—you make memories that look like first-place trophies.
