Ben and Tom Bublil finished among the top ten in an international design competition for the new Airbus cargo plane. “We managed to stay original and do something that has never been done before. We are very proud”, said the brothers
26-year-old Ben Bublil and his brother 22-year-old Tom finished among the top ten out of over 4,000 participants in an international design competition of the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, which turned to the general public in search of ideas for the design of the new A350F cargo plane.
“The company announced the competition in October 2022,” recalls Ben, “my brother Tom, who is the most passionate aviation guy I know, brought it to my attention and suggested we do it together. I asked him, ‘If we enter and win, will it be the biggest thing that happened to you in your life?’, he answered yes, and so we began.”
26-year-old Ben Bublil and his brother 22-year-old Tom among top finishers at Airbus aircraft design competition
The criteria of the aircraft
Airbus requested designs that would meet certain criteria, such as a certain level of display, highlighting the aircraft’s capabilities, characterization, and the like. In addition, there were clear rules for where graphic elements such as images and logos could be placed. There were no cash prizes for the winners of the competition, but the winning design will be the official design of the plane. “We worked on the design for about a month and a half. Our main goals were to inspire designers and airplane enthusiasts, and produce a design that is true to Airbus that’s never been seen before,” said Ben.
“In the beginning, we received from the company a picture of the plane that is blank and all white on both sides, and you design on top of that. In our design, we presented the capabilities of the plane through lively informative icons that we created. Those icons are displayed in strategic locations and are connected to each other by a colorful line, which starts from the cockpit and ends at the back of the plane, which emphasizes being built from carbon fiber. We presented the fuel savings and environmental benefits on the engines, and deployed arrows on the plane to emphasize that it is a cargo plane. We made sure that the design met the competition rules set by the company, and met our mission to produce a plane with features never before seen in commercial aviation design.”
The Bublil brothers present their design in Paris
In March, Airbus uploaded an update video from the competition that presented dozens of different designs, but gave special emphasis to the last eight. Second to last, the Israeli team’s design was presented. The announcement of the winning design was made at the recent International Airshow in Paris. The company decided to produce a new design itself, based on two similar designs that were submitted to the competition, and declared it the winner.
The Bublil brothers came to the show in Paris, and even talked with the company’s executives. In an official letter they received, they were informed that their design was among the top ten, out of over 4000 submitted designs, and even received praise and interest. “What we really liked about your design,” the members of the company wrote to the brothers, “was the fact that it was very well thought through, very neat and well documented. A lot of time, effort and talent went into it. For that we congratulate you for your creativity and dedication”, the letter stated.
Ben emphasizes that only through the joint collaboration with his brother, who knows every model by heart, lead to the desired result. “Thanks to Tom’s knowledge and understanding of airplanes, we were able to remain original, and do something that has never been done before. We are very proud”.
