This is the story of Fly-Mi, a student aerospace engineering team at Politecnico di Milano, and how Peli helps protect the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) they design and build for international competitions. We explore the challenges of transporting these aircraft, the importance of protecting a year’s worth of engineering work, and how a collaboration with Peli has developed into a partnership that goes far beyond protective equipment.
About Fly-Mi
Fly-Mi is a student association based at Politecnico di Milano and dedicated to the design and construction of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Each year, the team selects an international aerospace competition and develops an aircraft specifically around its technical requirements. This means starting again with a new engineering challenge, bringing together students specialising in areas including structures, aerodynamics and flight control to design, manufacture, assemble and test their own UAV.
In many cases, competition rules require the students to manufacture components themselves rather than relying on ready-made parts. Much of this work takes place in the team’s laboratory at Politecnico di Milano, where the different departments collaborate throughout the year to turn their designs into a competition-ready aircraft.
The challenge changes from season to season. Previous competitions have taken Fly-Mi to the United Kingdom and Germany, while the team’s latest project focuses on autonomous flight, requiring the UAV to complete its mission without a pilot.
For Nicolò Fontanin and Emilio Pietro Pedrazzini, members of Fly-Mi’s Business & Marketing department, another important part of that challenge is building relationships with companies that can support the non-profit student association with materials, technology and expertise.
It was through this search that Fly-Mi’s relationship with Peli began.
The Challenge: Protecting More Than a Drone
International competition means that Fly-Mi’s aircraft must leave the relative safety of the laboratory and travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometres.
The team normally builds multiple aircraft and spare components during the season. When travelling to competitions, the UAV is disassembled and its individual parts transported before being reassembled at the destination.
Before working with Peli, Fly-Mi relied on self-made wooden boxes.
“They were heavy and bulky, and really difficult to transport,” explains Emilio. “Since we started working with Peli, it has simplified our lives a lot.”
Convenience, however, was only part of the problem.
The aircraft contains composite components that need to be protected carefully against impacts. Damage to composite materials is not always visible externally, meaning an impact during transport could potentially compromise a component without the team immediately realising it.
And although the monetary value of the UAV may not compare with the aerospace components Peli cases are also used to protect, its value to Fly-Mi is measured differently.
“Our drone is the result of the work of around 60 engineering students for an entire year,” says Nicolò. “We put a lot of passion and a lot of heart into it. When it comes time to go to a competition, it is extremely important for us to know that it will arrive safely.”
The Peli Solution
Fly-Mi turned to Peli to find a safer and more practical way to transport its UAV.
The team received a Peli 1780 Protector Case, complete with a foam interior that allows the disassembled components of the aircraft to be securely organised and protected during transport.
Compared with the team’s previous wooden boxes, the difference was immediate.
With the foam interior holding individual components securely in position, the students no longer needed to improvise additional protection to prevent parts from moving inside the container. The case was also considerably easier to handle and transport to events and competitions.
For Fly-Mi, the biggest improvement was confidence.
“The most important thing for us is the safety the case provides,” explains Nicolò. “We could put everything inside, transport it to the competition and find every component exactly as we had placed it. Nothing had moved and nothing was broken.”
That peace of mind is particularly important when the aircraft is travelling by van alongside the team and its other equipment.
“Knowing that all the parts arrived at the competition exactly as we packed them, without any damage, was a huge relief for the whole team,” Nicolò adds. “Antonio told us that the cases were extremely safe, and we can absolutely say that was true. We had no problems at all during transportation.”
The Peli case has continued to be useful long after the competition itself. Fly-Mi now uses it when taking the aircraft to exhibitions and events, while the previous season’s UAV is also stored disassembled inside the case at the team’s shared laboratory.
When the aircraft is needed, the team can simply move the case to the required location and reassemble it.
More Than Product Support
For Fly-Mi, however, the relationship with Peli has extended beyond the protective equipment itself.
Antonio Di Palo, Peli’s Business Development Representative for Italy, has played an important role in developing the collaboration and supporting the team throughout its projects.
During an early visit to Politecnico di Milano, Antonio met with the students and introduced them to a range of Peli equipment. In addition to the 1780 Protector Case, Fly-Mi received other products and equipment that have since accompanied the students to competitions and events.
For Nicolò and Emilio, this hands-on approach has made the collaboration particularly valuable.
“Antonio didn’t just help us with materials,” says Nicolò. “He has supported us in many different aspects of the project.”
Rather than simply supplying equipment, Peli has maintained an ongoing relationship with the team, offering guidance and support as its projects have evolved.
“Normally, sponsors don’t do this,” Nicolò explains. “Antonio came to Politecnico, gave us a full presentation, brought products for us to see and has continued to help us. That made this collaboration different from the others.”
For a student association competing alongside more established university teams, working with recognised industry partners also carries an additional benefit. Fly-Mi displays the Peli logo on its aircraft, website and event materials, reflecting the importance of the collaboration to the team.
The association with an established professional brand, Emilio explains, helps Fly-Mi present itself as a serious engineering organisation when attending international competitions and engaging with potential partners.
Ready for the Next Mission
Fly-Mi’s work starts again with each new competition.
New requirements mean new engineering problems, new components and, ultimately, a new aircraft. The team’s latest challenge takes another step forward as the students develop a UAV capable of completing its mission autonomously.
What remains constant is the need to ensure that months of engineering work reach the competition safely.
For Fly-Mi, Peli has provided a solution that protects that work in the laboratory, on the road and at international events. Just as importantly, the collaboration has given the team a reliable industry partner whose support extends beyond the products themselves.
For a team built around students putting their engineering knowledge into practice, that combination of protection and support helps ensure that when competition day arrives, they can focus on what matters most: getting their aircraft into the air.
To learn more about Fly-Mi and its aerospace engineering projects, visit milano.euroavia.eu.
To discover how Peli protective cases can help safeguard your valuable equipment during transport and storage, visit www.peli.com.
