Every year, people with a passion for aeronautics gather in the California desert to compete in the prestigious Aero Design West competition. The event involves the design and construction of planes that can take off carrying maximum weight. Since 1996, a group of students from the École polytechnique de Montréal have used the event to showcase their innovative spirit and participate in an enriching experience. And the Comité Avion Cargo teams from the Polytechnique have also been successful. Required to start from scratch each year due to modified rules and requirements, the students won their first victory in 2000 in the Regular Class category. Encouraged by that win, the 2002 delegation won the Open Class category. For the occasion, their prototype, called Goliath, succeeded in taking off with a 39-kg load, as opposed to just 29 kg for the second place winners. They showed that Quebec's engineers of tomorrow are a promising generation!