The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Design Build Fly (AIAA DBF) competition is an annual aircraft design competition. Each year students are tasked with designing, building, and flying unmanned, electric powered, remote control aircraft. These aircraft are required to meet unique and very specific design requirements and mission profiles. Each year the missions change forcing teams to come up with completely new aircraft year after year.

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Student teams will design, fabricate, and demonstrate the flight capabilities of an unmanned, electric powered, radio controlled aircraft which can best meet the specified mission profile. The goal is a balanced design possessing good demonstrated flight handling qualities and practical and affordable manufacturing requirements while providing a high vehicle performance. This project is commonly used for senior design, but all others can still join.