A ten year old Pirniehall Primary School pupil has won Leonardo’s national ‘Wospie the Cat’ aircraft design competition, part of RAF100 centenary celebrations.
Hannah Amanda Donnelly was presented with a special trophy and £100 of book vouchers at an award ceremony at Leonardo, the advanced engineering company based at Crewe Toll, after winning their national RAF100 ‘Wopsie the Cat’ STEM competition.
The prize was presented by Alastair Morrison, Deputy Managing Director UK at Leonardo and Squadron Leader Sohail Khan from the Royal Air Force.
The national competition was created to mark the 100th anniversary of the RAF and was inspired by the true story of ‘Wopsie the Cat’, who stowed away on the first airship to travel across the Atlantic from east to west.
The competition gave young inventors the opportunity to imagine the future of flight, while learning about the remarkable story of some of the first aviators of the last century. Children were challenged to create an aircraft for Wopsie’s next adventure and the entrants, whose ages ranged from 4 years old to 12 years of age, demonstrated unbounded imagination and a flair for design in a rich range of drawings, designs and aircraft models submitted to the competition.
A total of 649 entries were received from children living everywhere from Inverness to Somerset and these entries were whittled down to a list of 20 finalists, who were judged by a panel which included Zerrin Lovett, COO RAF100, Air Commodore Chris Jones, RAF100 Industry Coordinator, Wing Commander Russ Barnes, SO1 Youth and STEM College HQ, Royal Air Force College Cranwell, Philip Pratley, Director Trade & External Relations UK and Adam Clarke, Head of the Leonardo Academy (Lincoln).
All of the finalists received a certificate congratulating them on their selection and participating schools were also sent a certificate to acknowledge their participation in the STEM initiative, inspired by the true story of the first feline aeronautical stowaway.
During the judging process which took place at RAF Cranwell, which is home to the RAF Air Force College, the personal details of all the finalists were hidden, so the judges could make objective decisions on the strongest entry. Hannah was unanimously chosen as the UK winner of the ‘Wopsie the Cat’ Leonardo RAF100 STEM Competition, because of the degree of innovation she displayed, using water and solar power as energy sources for her invention.
Speaking about her award win, Hannah said: “I feel so proud that my drawing was chosen out of so many other entries. I didn’t expect to win.”
Air Commodore Chris Jones, RAF100 Industry Coordinator, who travelled to Edinburgh from RAF Cranwell in order to attend the award ceremony, said: “In the one hundredth year of the Royal Air Force, it’s been fantastic to use stories like Wopsie the Cat to capture the spirit of adventure and the use of technology that makes Air and Space so exciting for young people.
“Well done to everyone who entered the Leonardo competition. The imagination, enthusiasm and creative talent in all the entries thrilled the judging panel and showed just how much fun Wopsie could have on her next journey.
“Very many congratulations to Hannah for the winning design – a simple but truly inspirational use of sustainable solar and hydro power, fit for the next hundred years of aerospace exploration.
“Thank you to Leonardo for bringing Wopsie’s story up to date as part of RAF100 and for showcasing the imagination, enthusiasm and creative talent that will inspire the next generation of aerospace pioneers.”
Hannah’s success also made STV’s local news programme on Thursday evening.
Wopsie’s story
The first airship to travel across the Atlantic from east to west left East Fortune, Scotland, on 2 July 1919 and arrived in Long Island, New York four days later.
While in flight, the crew discovered that a cat called Wopsie had been smuggled aboard by one of the engineers, William Ballantyne. William was supposed to stay behind to save weight, but had somehow managed to hide himself and the cat on board at the last minute.
As one of the first known aeronautical stowaways, William and Wopsie captured the imagination of the New York Press and William appeared on the cover of the New York Times.
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