ANDRÉ’S DREAM TAKES OFF WITH INCUB’S HELP
When André Ferreira gained a motorsport engineering degree at Cranfield University little did he think that a few years later he would design a machine which has no wheels and spends most of the time in the air – he did and, with the help of Incub he is turning into a business!
Twenty-six-year-old André, who was born in Portugal, had dreamed of putting wings on a camera and flying it remotely. He followed his dream with Sheffield’s Incub where he designed and engineered VuAir machines, initially applying the aerodynamics knowledge he had acquired during his previous work with Formula One cars.
Incub’s purpose is to seek individuals with not only an innovative idea but also an entrepreneurial spirit and work with them to create a profitable business. Incub is a member of the Gripple family, which also includes Loadhog, the city-based, multi award-winning manufacturers.
For two years André had been a design engineer in Gripple’s ideas and innovation department during which he spent his spare time building and flying airplanes when the thought of putting a video camera on board came to him. He put his idea to Incub who took him into its product ‘incubator’.
André has utilised Incub’s high-tech facilities to help him realise his dream and VuAir machines have already been used for actual jobs in his home country as well as Spain and the UK.
The remote-controlled machines are durable and strong enough to carry a camera safely with a live link to the ‘pilot in the cockpit flying the plane’ and the footage shot, even close to the ground, is crystal clear and detailed.
André said: “Without all the fantastic support and help from Incub’s true professionals and fellow innovators, I simply could not have seen my dream take off! It’s onwards and upwards from now on!”
As managing director of his aerial photography business, VuAir, André is currently working full-time out of Incub where its business, finance and marketing know-how is helping him to establish his business firmly, complete the first orders and target an extensive range of markets.
For further information about either VuAir or Incub see respectively www.vuair.co.uk or 0114 2800 856 and www.incub.co.uk or 0114 228 8701.
