Defense One reports, “Delays in Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program and Boeing’s lackluster performance on its own defense efforts could be driving recent—and unexpected—comments from Air Force leaders that it might not build a next-gen fighter jet. Aviation observers were thrown for a loop last week when service chief Gen. David Allvin declined to commit to building the future Next Generation Air Dominance aircraft…”
Full Story (Defense One)
Tag: Build
Joshua Dobbs Highlighted
The Star Tribune spotlights Joshua Dobbs, the Vikings new quarterback, who majored in aerospace engineering at the University of Tennessee and was involved with AIAA’s Design/Build/Fly competition.
Full Story (The Star Tribune)
Video
Josh Dobbs receives congratulations from coaches and teammates following his comeback win, days after being traded to the Minnesota Vikings
(Bleacher Report; YouTube)
Rocket Scientist Quarterback Moves Team Towards the NFL Playoffs
A profile of NFL quarterback Josh Dobbs in The Wall Street Journal discussed his background in aerospace engineering, including his two NFL offseasons moonlighting at NASA. The piece also discusses Dobbs participation as part of a team of Tennessee students participating in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ Design/Build/Fly competition, where the team had to launch a model airplane they built.
Full Story (The Wall Street Journal – Subscription Publication)
Honda Subsidiary Will Build its New Light Aircraft Model at North Carolina Factory
The AP reports Honda Aircraft Co. “will develop and build a longer-range version of its light aircraft in central North Carolina, generating 280 additional jobs, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office announced Tuesday.” The AP adds the Honda subsidiary “said last month that it would produce for commercial use the proposed HondaJet 2600 model,” which it describes “as the first light jet able to fly nonstop across the continental U.S., with up to 11 occupants.” The AP adds that the decision “means Honda Aircraft, which is headquartered at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, will invest another $56 million in Guilford County.”
Full Story (Associated Press)
Aachen University Wins AIAA’s Design, Build, Fly Competition
Aerospace America reports that RWTH Aachen University of Germany won AIAA’s annual Design, Build, Fly competition, which “challenged students to design, build and test fly an aircraft with simulated electronic warfare components.”
Full Story (Aerospace America)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Students Place Second at 2022 Design/Build/Fly Competition
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (FL) reports that a team “of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students recently made school history by placing second in this year’s Design/Build/Fly aircraft competition hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).” The team’s aircraft “is named MULLET, which stands for Medical Unmanned Low-Level Electric Transport.”
Full Story (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)
More Info (AIAA)
AIAA Announces 2024 Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition Winners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2024 – Wichita, Kan. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced the winners of the 28th Annual AIAA DBF Competition:
- 1st Place ($3,000): Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida
- 2nd Place ($2,000): Georgia Institute of Technology
- 3rd Place ($1,500): University of Washington, Seattle
- Best Design Report ($100): University of Southern California
This year marks the largest-ever flyoff participation, with more than 1,000 students on 93 university teams attending onsite. The flyoff was hosted by AIAA Corporate Member Textron Aviation in Wichita, Kan. Teams from 12 countries, including 32 US states participated in the full DBF Competition, including submitting design reports and attending the flyoff.
This year’s flight objective was to design, build, and test a remotely operated radio control airplane for Urban Air Mobility. The airplane must be able to conduct a delivery flight, a medical transport flight, and an urban taxi flight. Teams also conducted a ground mission demonstrating how quickly they can change their aircraft configuration from delivery to medical transport to urban air taxi.
“Design/Build/Fly is a highlight of the year,” said AIAA CEO Dan Dumbacher. “Aerospace teaches us to adapt to the unexpected. It’s a great lesson for students as they prepare to enter this vibrant and meaningful field. The lessons learned and connections made here will be the foundation for their future careers. Congratulations to the winning teams and all the teams that made it here to the DBF flyoff!”
Russ Althof, director of the DBF Organizing Committee, said, “We owe our thanks for the success of the DBF Competition to the efforts of many volunteers from Textron Aviation, Raytheon, and the AIAA sponsoring Technical Committees: Applied Aerodynamics, Aircraft Design, Flight Test, and Design Engineering. These volunteers collectively set the rules for the contest, publicize the event, gather entries, judge the written proposals and reports, and execute the flyoff.
The 2025 AIAA DBF Competition will be held in April 2025 hosted in Tucson, Ariz., by Raytheon.
Media contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram.