Our Parenting World (OPW) was at Science Centre Singapore (SCS) to witness and attend the Singapore Amazing Flying Machine Competition 2015 which is an annual competition in its seventh series and this year competition welcomed eight international teams from Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Our team was so excited to have the opportunity to admire some of the innovative planes that were made by various schools on display.
The Singapore Amazing Flying Machine Competition (SAFMC) created in 2009 enables the youth to take flight. It is an exciting and unique event organised by DSO National Laboratories (DSO) and Science Centre Singapore (SCS). It is part of the DSO Amazing Series of Competitions, which aims to inspire and nurture youths in Science and Technology. Open to all schools and students who want to reach for the sky, this annual competition promises loads of learning fun with special talks, workshops and live demonstrations.
The competition which is in its 7th edition this year returned with 23 parents and teachers participating in a new ‘Teacher/ Parent’ class under Category A: Paper Plane. This addition of a new class gives the adults a chance to learn alongside their students and children, and put their science knowledge to the test as they create paper planes to achieve the longest, farthest or most accurate flight.
The complete list of SAFMC Categories:
| Category | Challenge | Competitors |
| A. Paper Plane | Design and fold paper planes to achieve longest, farthest or most accurate flight. | Student class: Primary Schools (P3 – 6), Homeschoolers (9- 12 years old) Open class: Students above 12 years old Teacher/Parent class: Adults 20 years old and above |
| B. Unpowered Glider | Design and build small unpowered gliders. Fly them into scoring zones. | Secondary Schools / Integrated Programme (IP) |
| C. Radio Control Flight | Design and build a small remote-controlled air platform to navigate an obstacle course. | Secondary Schools / IP / Junior Colleges / Institute of Technical Education |
| D. Semi-automated/Automated | Design and build a small air platform (semi-automated / fully-automated) to navigate an indoor obstacle course. | Polytechnics / Universities |
| E. Unconventional | Design unconventional air platforms and demonstrate its flight within a confined outdoor area. | Open to public |
For more information, please visit http://www.dsoamazingcompetitions.com.sg/safmc/home.php
Additionally, the SAFMC raises the level of competition for Category E (Open Category) this year, requiring teams to not only wow the judges during free-style demonstrations, but to also clock the best timing during a newly introduced Air Race.
The 7th SAFMC Awards Ceremony was graced by Mr Chan Chun Sing, Second Minister for Defence and Minister for Social and Family Development.
We were also thrilled to be able to see the remarkable flying machines in action as selected participants get to fly their creations on air for our Minister. We were so impressed with the flying machines put up by the participants. To us, young boys of OPW, it was a phenomenal sight!
The flight champions were crowned by Mr Chan Chun Sing, Second Minister for Defence. To find out who are the winners of each category, please click HERE.
Here, we would like to thank the kind organisers, DSO National Laboratories (DSO) and Science Centre Singapore (SCS) for having us. We get to see so many amazing flying machines and we are inspired to come up with our own flying machine! To find out more about Singapore Amazing Flying Machine Competition 2015, please click HERE.
