The largest foamboard aircraft ever?

Building the world’s largest foamboard aircraft:

When you think of what you want a plane to be, the first words that come to mind are often safe, fast, strong and reliable. Usually, the words largest and lightweight aren’t high on the list. Foam and board almost certainly aren’t.

And yet, here within the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering (MACE), there’s a project ongoing that’s looking to build the world’s largest foamboard plane.

The project academic lead is Professor Bill Crowther, an aerospace engineer who specialises in the applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Beginning in 2019, the foamboard plane project has one aim: to build the largest possible model aircraft that can be made from foam board. Specifically, the plan must be within the UK Civil Aviation Authority ‘Open’ category, which limits maximum weight to 25kg.
“It started as a summer intern project where a number of students were tasked with exploring the creative possibilities of building aerospace structures from foam board,” Bill says.

“Little did we know that three years later we would build and fly the world’s largest foamboard plane.”

https://www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk/...