USA Design Build Fly 2025
presented by USA Student DBF Team
The University of South Alabama’s Design Build Fly (DBF) team will be participating in the International AIAA competition, taking place from April 10-13 in Tucson, Arizona. This competition involves four primary missions: three flight missions and one ground mission.
The first flight mission requires the carrier aircraft to complete three half-mile laps within five minutes. For the second mission, the carrier plane must again complete the same course in under five minutes, but with the added challenge of carrying the entire payload system, which includes fuel cells and an autonomously flying glider.
The ground mission entails transforming the carrier aircraft from its configuration in Mission 1 to that of Mission 2. The final flight mission involves the carrier aircraft releasing the glider—mounted beneath the plane—at an altitude of 200-400 feet, allowing the glider to autonomously navigate to the ground and land within a designated landing zone.
This competition provides a unique opportunity for the DBF team to demonstrate their engineering capabilities and innovation in both flight and ground operations.
Wednesday, April 16
Doors and Registration open at 11:00 AM.
Lunch begins at 11:30 AM.