23 engineering colleges vie for honours at Nat'l Aeromodelling Competition

Mysuru: JSS Science and Technology University (JSS STU), Mysuru, hosted AeroIgnite 2026, a three-day national-level aeromodelling competition, bringing together 23 teams from leading engineering institutions across the country.

Organised by AeroJC, the student-led aeromodelling club of the department of mechanical engineering, SJCE, the event marked the first competition of its kind in Mysuru region.

The competition featured student-designed and student-built fixed-wing remote-controlled aircraft, providing participants with an opportunity to demonstrate innovation, engineering skills and aerospace expertise.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by Amith Byrappa, senior manager–API Management and data governance, Collins Aerospace, Bengaluru. AN Santosh Kumar, vice-chancellor of JSS STU, Dr C Nataraju, in-charge principal of SJCE, and Dr G Mallesh, head of department of mechanical engineering, were also present.

The highlight of the event was the flying competition held on June 5 at the KSCA cricket ground on the JSS STU campus. Teams were challenged to accurately drop golf balls into a designated target area using their aircraft. The event emphasised the growing relevance of unmanned aerial systems and aerospace technologies in modern defence, surveillance and strategic applications.

According to a release, Team Dhanush from Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology secured first place, Team AeroMIT from Manipal Institute of Technology claimed second place while Team AeroVeloce from RV College of Engineering secured third place.