Luton Airport and MK-based university host flying event for competition winners

Prize winners of a competition by London Luton Airport (LLA) and an MK-area university were able to take part in a flying event to celebrate winning the airport’s ‘Reach for the Sky’ school competition.

Last week (23/04), competition winners took to the skies for a once-in-a-lifetime trip on Cranfield University’s Saab340B National Flying Laboratory Centre (NFLC).

The competition, which was supported by a £90,000 ‘Reach for the Sky’ grant from the Department for Transport (DfT) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), aimed to inspire the next generation of aviation professionals and widen access to careers for underrepresented groups.

The one-hour NFLC flight between LLA and Cranfield University was organised for 20 winning students from the 16+ competition category, who enjoyed a unique opportunity to explore the ‘flying classroom and laboratory’ used by aeronautical students from over 20 universities.

Upon arrival at Cranfield, the students joined competition winners from the 11-15 age category for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the University’s world-leading, Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre (DARTeC). The group’s design skills were also put to the test during a paper aircraft session with Dr Yicheng Sun, a research fellow in Aerospace Vehicle Design at Cranfield, and the UK national record holder for the longest-distance paper aircraft flight.

LLA’s Reach for the Sky competition is the latest initiative to come from the airport’s transformative Classroom to Careers* education and skills development programme. Classroom to Careers aims to inspire local young people, open clear pathways into work and equip students with vital transferable skills, real‑world industry insight and hands‑on exposure to aviation, sustainability, STEM and airport operations. The programme is delivered by LLA’s Community team and volunteers from across the airport, in collaboration with not-for-profit organisation Skills Builder and Luton Council’s Children, Families and Education team.

Alberto Martin, Chief Executive Officer at London Luton Airport, said, “This collaboration between London Luton Airport and Cranfield University has provided a wonderful platform to celebrate the talent, aspiration and imagination of local young people who share our passion for aviation. It was a pleasure to welcome the winning students to LLA today, ahead of their unique learning opportunity on board Cranfield’s state-of-the-art NFLC. The Reach for the Sky competition was made possible by funding from the DfT and CAA and is another example of the ways in which an airport at the heart of a community can strengthen skills and create exciting career pathways for local young people. The quality of the submissions was hugely impressive, and we hope that today’s celebrations will continue to inspire all the winners.”

The Government’s Aviation Minister Keir Mather MP added, “The Government is securing UK aviation’s future by inspiring young people from all backgrounds to see the sector as a place to build their careers. Our £90,000 investment in this fantastic initiative is showing young people from disadvantaged backgrounds different routes into aviation – breaking down barriers to opportunity, supporting skills and opportunities that deliver growth, and encouraging the next generation to aim for the sky.”

Cranfield University’s NFLC is a fully instrumented aircraft which supplies passengers with real-time data about a range of performance parameters. Fitted with an Aspire 400 satellite communications system, the aircraft has a unique capability for STEM outreach and research, as aircraft data can be transmitted in real time to anywhere in the world.

Professor Anna Smallwood, Head of the Centre for Air Transport Management at Cranfield University, said, “The NFLC is unique – Cranfield is the only university in Europe with a flying classroom like this. It’s an amazing tool for teaching and research, but it’s also there to inspire the next generation to come and work in aviation. It’s been fantastic to have been part of the Reach for the Sky challenge alongside London Luton Airport, CAA and the DfT, and I hope that we’ll see some of the children who are here today back at Cranfield one day to help shape the future of aviation.”