FROM THE INSTITUTE
AIAA Student Paper Competitions recognize outstanding student research presented at AIAA forums and events. The competitions give undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to present original technical work, gain professional recognition, and receive feedback from their peers in industry and academia. We are pleased to announce the winners of the competitions held at AIAA SciTech Forum 2026.
Tag: competition
DARPA Announces 2026 X-plane Competition for New Uncrewed Cargo Drone
Flight Global reports, “The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to launch the Lift Challenge in 2026, seeking novel designs for uncrewed aircraft that can carry payloads more than four times their own weight.”
AIAA Announces 2025 Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition Winners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2025 – Tucson, Ariz. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced the winners of the 29th Annual AIAA Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition:
- First Place ($3,000): FH Joanneum, Graz, Austria
- Second Place ($2,000): Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
- Third Place ($1,500): Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, Calif.
- Best Report Score ($100): University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Complete results are posted at aiaa.org/dbf.
This year marks DBF’s largest ever flyoff participation, with 1,200+ students on 97 university teams attending onsite. The flyoff was hosted by AIAA Corporate Member RTX in Tucson, Ariz. Teams from 14 countries participated in the flyoff weekend, including the U.S. with representation from 34 states.
This year’s flight objective was to design, build, and test an airplane to execute an X-1 Supersonic Flight Test Program, including the launch of an X-1 test vehicle – an autonomous glider with flashing lights. Teams also conducted a timed ground mission demonstration of the X-1 Flight Test Program.
“DBF is a highlight of the AIAA year,” said AIAA CEO Clay Mowry. “The students who compete here are the next generation of aerospace professionals. Congratulations to the winning teams!
“This year’s DBF mission is inspired by the Bell X-1 plane that Chuck Yeager flew when he broke the sound barrier in 1947. It was a feat once deemed impossible. The X-1 was powered by an XLR-11 engine build by Reaction Motors, a company spun out of the American Rocket Society, one of AIAA’s predecessor organizations in 1941. Our newly unveiled AIAA logo is inspired by the Bell X-1 breaking the sound barrier. We hope these students channel the X-1 spirit in their future careers to show the world what’s possible.” Mowry added.
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 RTX, Textron Aviation, and the AIAA sponsoring Technical Committees: Applied Aerodynamics, Aircraft Design, Flight Test, and Design Engineering. These volunteers collectively set the rules for the contest, gather entries, judge the written reports, and execute the flyoff.”
The 2026 AIAA DBF Competition will be held in April 2026 hosted in Wichita, Kan., by Textron Aviation.
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.
Innovators Invited to Compete to Build Best Autonomous Emergency Response Aircraft
Flying Magazine reports, “Calling all students, engineers, businesses, and other innovators. Time is running out to join a competition that will award $2 million in prizes to whoever can build the best autonomous emergency response aircraft. December 11 is the submission deadline for Stage 1 of GoAERO—a three-year contest backed by NASA, Boeing, RTX, and other key aviation stakeholders seeking to aid the estimated 4.5 million Americans living in ‘ambulance deserts,’ who may need to wait longer than 25 minutes for emergency services to arrive. The aircraft created by competitors could rescue people in danger and respond to disasters, medical emergencies, or humanitarian crises.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
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.
Blue Origin, SpaceX Competition Boosts Supply Chain Companies’ Bottom Lines
Bloomberg reports that as private space firms “like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin step up rocket production and development and more nations race to the moon, mid-size manufacturers that provide their equipment and supplies are reaping the benefits.” Companies including “satellite builder MDA Ltd, heat-transfer manufacturer Graham Corp, and aluminum maker Constellium SE all saw share gains of two-thirds or more in 2023, driven in part by the billions of dollars in private and government funding for space exploration and the creation of large-scale satellite networks.”
Full Story (Bloomberg – Subscription Publication)
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)
AIAA Announces 2023 Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition Winners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) today announced the winners of the 27th Annual AIAA Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition:
- First Place ($3,000): RWTH Aachen University, Germany
- Second Place ($2,000): University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Third Place ($1,500): Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida
- Best Report Score ($100): University of Washington, Seattle
The complete 2023 DBF Competition results are posted online.
This year marks the largest ever DBF Competition flyoff participation, with 868 university students on 81 teams attending onsite. The flyoff event was hosted by AIAA Corporate Member Raytheon in Tucson, Ariz. Teams from 14 countries, including 27 US states and the District of Columbia 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 an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to conduct surveillance and jamming missions for electronic warfare. More details about the mission requirements are available on the DBF website: aiaa.org/dbf.
“Design/Build/Fly is a highlight of the year,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive director. “Aerospace trains us to adapt to the unexpected. It’s a great lesson for students as they prepare to enter this vibrant and meaningful field. Congratulations to the winning teams and all the teams that made it here to the DBF flyoff! The lessons learned and connections made here will be the basis for their future careers.”
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 Raytheon Technologies, Textron Aviation, 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 reports, and judge the flyoff in Tucson.”
The 2024 AIAA DBF Competition will be held in April 2024 and hosted in Wichita, Kan., by Textron.
Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
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, and Instagram.
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 2022 Design/Build/Fly Winners
Digital Engineering reports that AIAA has announced “the winners of the 26th annual AIAA/Textron Aviation/Raytheon Technologies Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition.” First place goes to the Georgia Institute of Technology, second place to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and third place to FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences. The DBF objective for 2022 “was to design, build and test an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to deliver and drop vaccine components. Missions included deployment of the aircraft, staging of vaccination syringes and delivery of environmentally sensitive vaccine vial packages.” AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher said, “Aerospace trains us to adapt to the unexpected. It’s a good lesson for students as they enter this vibrant and meaningful field.”
Full Story (Digital Engineering)
Learn More (Aerospace America)
Learn More (AIAA Statement)