Team Kilo Flight, a group of students from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), participated in the UK's Formula Student (FS) this year virtually. It is an annual engineering competition where participants are expected to design small-scale formula style racing cars. The event is run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. It is regarded as Europe's most established educational engineering competition, and is backed by industry and high-profile engineers.

It provides students with a taste of real-world experience, combining practical engineering with necessary soft skills, like business planning and project management.

Team Kilo Flight built a model Formula One racing car using jute fibre. Their environmentally-friendly car, Kilo Flight Alpha, is a milestone for the automobile sector of Bangladesh. The vehicle is capable of running at 162 km/h. Its body, aerodynamic devices, air intake system, and driver's seat are all made of jute composite.

Team Kilo Flight worked on the car for about three years before showcasing it at the event. They were the only Bangladeshi team among participants from 64 other countries. "It took us four months to construct the vehicle while the designing and other procedures took another two and half years," shared Arfan Islam, the team captain.

"Initially we could not manage enough funds for this project. We also lacked the technological backup required for the construction and testing of our automobile," explained Md  Mohiuddin, one of their deputy captains.

As FS is a year-round competition, the team submitted several design specifications and reports throughout the year. "During the final day, we gave a presentation through Microsoft Teams and provided insights on our design, while sharing our reasoning, cost reporting, management, and validation," said Sagor Mozumder, another deputy captain from the team. 

Team Kilo Flight was formed in 2018. Currently, they have 145 members and intend to inspire students from different fields such as textile engineering, mechanical engineering, as well as business studies, to develop their skills for the automobile sector.

Moving forward, they plan to utilise their knowledge and ideas to build commercial vehicles.

The author is a medical student and a freelance journalist who likes reading, scribbling, and blogging. Email: mislammonamee@gmail.com.