The name was selected by a judging panel from over 800 names that were submitted as part of Mission 001, a competition with the RAF’s Air Cadets which saw hundreds of young aviation enthusiasts compete to name the first AERALIS test aircraft. The panel, consisting of senior AERALIS employees and RAF representatives including Air Vice-Marshal Simon Edwards, RAF Director People, and Air Commodore Tony Keeling, Commandant RAF Air Cadets, met last week to sift through over 800 names submitted by Air Cadets to pick their favourite. After hours of deliberation, the judges selected the name which most represented the spirit and ambition of the first AERALIS aircraft. And AERALIS has announced their first test aircraft will be named ‘Phoenix’.
The winner was a Cadet from Dawlish in Devon. In line with competition rules, he was picked at random from the 15 cadets who suggested the name Phoenix. He will receive a range of exciting prizes including a tour around the AERALIS facility to talk with key members of the business to help grow his understanding of the AERALIS project and the modern methods of aircraft design and manufacture. The 14 runners-up will also receive AERALIS prizes. The announcement today on National STEM Day highlights the business’ aim to inspire young people into engineering. AERALIS has been closely engaged with the Air Cadets over the past year, attending their National Air and Space Camp to talk with young aviation enthusiasts about the future of British aerospace design and manufacture. Following the conclusion of Mission 001, AERALIS will continue to work with the Air Cadets to launch further competitions, keeping the aviation talent of tomorrow engaged with the next generation of British aviation.
“A huge thank you to all the Air Cadets who took part in the competition and submitted names for the aircraft, the judging panel were highly impressed with the quality of names and the thought that went into them. Phoenix is a superb name for our first test aircraft, and we look forward to welcoming the winner to our facility in Bristol,” Tristan Crawford, founder and CEO or AERALIS said.
“It was amazing to have AERALIS launch Mission 001 at our National Air and Space Camp and I’m delighted with the response to the naming competition. Over 800 Air Cadets submitted their ideas to name the first test aircraft, and I was very impressed by the broad range of names and the reasons why it should be chosen. My thanks to AERALIS for providing such an imaginative way to engage the next generation, and to our Air Cadets for their collective brilliance,” Air Commodore Tony Keeling, Commandant of the Air Cadets said.
The Aeralis Advanced Jet Trainer (ADJ) is an advanced jet trainer aircraft designed by Aeralis in the United Kingdom. It is the initial variant of a family of modular aircraft which are reconfigurable to cover a variety of roles, including operational training, basic jet training, aerobatics/display and light combat. Work on the ADJ begun during the early 2010s; the project was publicly announced in June 2015 under the initial name of Dart. Funding was sought from various sources, both within Britain and internationally; in February 2021, the Rapid Capabilities Office of the Royal Air Force (RAF) awarded a three year control for the further development of the aircraft; the service is reviewing the aircraft for various purposes, including the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) initiative and as a potential replacement for its aging BAE Systems Hawk aircraft.
