UC Aerospace is a student-led aerospace engineering club at the University of Canterbury, dedicated to pushing the limits of flight and creating opportunities for students of all disciplines to get hands-on with real aerospace projects. Founded in 2017, we have grown to over 450 active members and are one of the largest academic engineering clubs at UC.
Our mission is to contribute to Aotearoa's growing aerospace industry by preparing students with practical experience, demonstrating the technical excellence of New Zealand engineers, and developing the next generation of the engineering workforce.
Our current projects span the full breadth of aerospace engineering, including Level 1 Rocketry, Project Huia (an Electric Ducted Fan aircraft aiming to break the 492 km/h EDF RC speed record), and a 2026 entry in the Australian Universities Rocket Competition.
On the competition stage, we have claimed back to back first place finishes in the 30,000 ft COTS category at the Spaceport America Cup in both 2023 and 2024, with our 2023 flight landing just 25 ft from the target altitude. We were also the first New Zealand team to compete at Spaceport America Cup in 2022.
Beyond the club, we run HotRocket outreach workshops for primary and high school students across Christchurch, working alongside ChristchurchNZ, Aerospace New Zealand, and Children's University.
