HORYZN – Shaping our mindsets for the rest of our lives
Balázs Nagy, Passioneer at the TUM student initiative HORYZN
HORYZN – Shaping our mindsets for the rest of our lives
Balázs Nagy, Passioneer at the TUM student initiative HORYZN
At ERC, we are true “Passioneers”: Engineers who are passionate about their dream. We’re striving towards an electric flight solution to reduce inequalities between locations – anywhere on Earth: a holistic vision that’s not only bigger than our product but truly #BiggerThanUs.
Yet, we’re not the only ones striving towards something big. Along the way, we’ve met many other aviation enthusiasts who share our dream of flying and are pushing the boundaries in different ways.
One of these Passioneers – an aviation engineer by passion – is Balázs Nagy, an aerospace student at the Technical University of Munich and head of the student initiative HORYZN*. Recently, we’ve had the chance to catch up with him.
Balázs, how did you become an aviation enthusiast?
Even as a child, I was fascinated by everything that moves. What started out as model-making quickly became more ambitious during my studies. After engaging in a competition to develop new flight concepts, I was completely hooked: I changed my course of study immediately afterward and from then on concentrated solely on aerospace.
“… The feeling of standing together at the airfield and watching our project fly is just indescribable…“
In addition to your studies, you have also set up HORYZN. There, you are now not only managing a complex project, but also almost 60 students. That must be incredibly stressful and challenging. Why do you do this in your spare time?
I love challenges and solving problems. And with HORYZN, I have both. The interpersonal problems that arise in such a large team with so many different nationalities are almost more challenging than the project coordination itself. When we spend 16 hours a day in the workshop during the peak phase shortly before the end of the project, tinkering with our drone, of course, there are some conflicts. And this gets me down. But then I just go for a run and think about how I can solve the problems. Most of the time, that spurs me on even more, so that I set myself a new, even higher goal. Because from my experience I know what a great feeling it is when things work out in the end. And that motivates me anew every time. Despite or perhaps because of these problems, the feeling when you stand at the airfield, the object flies and the team is happy and proud together is simply indescribable. For me, that makes every effort worth it.
“It’s a painful journey. But also a cool feeling.“
What about HORYZN and your role in #BiggerThanUs?
The result of uniting 60 individuals through a project in such a way that they are all passionate about it is definitely bigger than me. If we also manage to save lives with the Mission Pulse project, that’s definitely bigger than HORYZN, too. Moreover, the knowledge we acquire will remain at the university even after we are no longer there, i.e. research and also subsequent students will also benefit from this. This is also bigger than HORYZN as a whole.
We are all learning for life in the truest sense of the word, as banal as that may sound. Because what we feel and experience during this project will shape all of our mindsets for the rest of our lives. I am absolutely certain of that.
In any case, you will gain valuable experience with HORYZN that will certainly help you in your professional life after graduation. We are very glad to have met you on your way to building something that is #BiggerThanUs like real Passioneers do. We wish you all the best for your future and of course a successful “Mission Pulse”! Thank you, Balázs, for the interview!
If you are also a true Passioneer and would like to live out your passion at ERC, take a look at our Career page!
*About HORYZN:
Founded in 2019, HORYZN is a student initiative consisting of 58 Bachelor, Master, and Ph.D. students of aerospace engineering, physics, and multiple other disciplines from the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The goal is to apply the theoretical knowledge gained in their studies by developing electrical Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). As an international and interdisciplinary team, HORYZN comes up with innovative solutions for real-world problems.
Thanks to the close cooperation with six chairs from the newly founded Department of Aerospace and Geodesy and as part of the AkaModell München e.V., HORYZN is an interface between research, industry, and students.
As part of the first project, they developed the largest eVTOL UAV in the history of the Technical University of Munich. In their next project they will test a medical use case – the transport of defibrillators – and thus encourage the social debate regarding the use of civil UAVs.
About eRC-System GmbH
eRC-System GmbH develops a manned electrical vertical takeoff and landing vehicle, having all aspects of certified aerospace products in mind, right from the start. The company is closely cooperating with suppliers, partners and authorities in order to realize sustainable solutions for technical, operational, and infrastructural challenges.
ERC was founded in 2020 by a team of aerospace engineers that already has gained experience in this field for many years. Being pioneers in the development of new technologies that will last beyond a human and that will have impact on the daily lives of millions, requires ERC’s “Passioneering spirit” – the combination of passion and know-how.
Being well-funded, the initial team already grew a full-featured company around the topic that is still prospering fast and highly dynamic.
