FARNBOROUGH, England, July 17, 2018/PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), today announced it is the exclusive Disruptor Award sponsor of The GoFly Prize, a global competition to encourage innovators to design a personal flying device. The goal of The GoFly Prize is to foster the development of safe, quiet, ultra-compact personal flying devices capable of near vertical take-off and landing.
As a sponsor, Pratt & Whitney will present the Disruptor Award, a $100,000 prize, to the team that is truly innovative, who has gone beyond in developing their personal flying device for the competition. With the Disruptor Award, Pratt & Whitney recognizes innovation unmatched by any other competitor, so that true originality is rewarded. The Pratt & Whitney Disruptor Award allows for all types of innovations to be embraced—and it allows the company to recognize innovation and disruption in its purest sense.
"Encouraging the advancement of flight is a natural fit for our business," said David Carter, senior vice president, engineering, Pratt & Whitney. "We have been on the front lines of innovation for more than 90 years, and we are excited to see what the participating teams will develop, test and successfully execute during this competition."
Launched in September 2017, The GoFly Prize is a two-year competition where teams will leverage recent advances in propulsion, energy, light-weight materials, and control and stability systems to make the dream of personal flight a reality. The competition will award prize money of $2 million to participating teams in a variety of categories. Teams will build a personal flying device that can be used by anyone, anywhere.
Participating in this project provides Pratt & Whitney the opportunity to support the next generation of aviation leaders. As a sponsor, the company will provide mentors and lecturers to help teams around the world develop the future of flight. The winner of the Pratt & Whitney Disruptor Award will be announced at GoFly's Final Fly-Off event in October 2019.