Three students of Electrical Engineering of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) namely Galuh Fierga S. M., Purnama Ardhi, and Dany Dwi Jaka S. associating REV-GAARDAN achieved the best design in Kompetisi Muatan Balon Atmosfer (Kombat) 2015. The competition was organized by Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) collaborated with Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education (Kemenristekdikti). The Kombat was held with Kompetisi Roket Muatan Roket Indonesia –Indonesia Rocket Payload and Rocket Competition – (Komurindo) 2015. It is conducted in 2-4 August in Pameungpeuk, Garut, West Java.
Galuh Fierga S. as the chief admitted that his team did not expect to attain the best design since the rivals were quite tough and their design was also adequate fascinating. The judge gave a special name for their design. “Our antenna design was the greatest and the judge called the antenna ‘antena maut’ (deadly antenna),” conveyed Galuh. The ‘antena maut’, ultimately, brought them to be the winner of the best design of Kombat 2015.
Galuh informed that his team principally did not recognize the scoring system, but they contended that there must be certain factors bringing them to be the winner. “We, in fact, did not know how the judge appraised. It may be because we had the greatest and most unique antenna. We also could take four hundred aerial photos, yet the judge affirmed that the four hundred photos were not many. On contrast, only a few teams of 14 teams can flow the blimp and saved the pictures automatically in the system.
They prepared themselves for the competition for six months. Although his team could drive the blimp up to the maximum height, 23-29 km in Komurindo-Kombat 2014, they also confronted various problems. “Before the departure, we had a problem dealing with transportation because our goods are large and it was impossible to use public transportation. Therefore, the only way was renting a car. The other problem ensued during the competition. The GPS in the blimp was off. We thought that our load could not get down because of the GPS and losing contact. However, our load was ultimately got down and if the GPS had not been off, we might have an occasion to be the second runner up,” asserted Galuh.
Galuh and his friends were grateful for achieving the best design of Kombat 2015. They perceived that their endeavor was paid. They expected that they can perform their best. “The competition was the valuable experience for us. We wish that our juniors can do better and they can attain not only the best design but also the winner,” he ended.
