Help us soar to success!

The team

Cornell University's Design Build Fly (DBF) project team is a student-run organization in which members develop, build, test, and optimize a custom radio-controlled aircraft to compete in the international DBF competition. The competition, sponsored by Textron Aviation, Raytheon, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, enables students to engage in the design process and to produce an aircraft that meets the requirements of a specified mission profile.

Cornell DBF provides interested students with a venue to apply theoretical coursework to formulate practical engineering solutions. By applying the same technology and manufacturing methods as industry professionals, our team provides graduating members with the knowledge and experience for success.

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The competition

The AIAA Design/Build/Fly competition challenges teams to create a high-performing aircraft within a specified mission profile. Held in Wichita, Kansas, or Tucson, Arizona, the competition is comprised of both a technical report and a flight performance evaluation. The written component is determined by evaluating the team’s engineering process for thoroughness, justification, and presentation. The second component is the mission score which assesses a team’s aircraft performance according to competition rules. These rules vary significantly each year, encouraging fresh designs and new innovations.

For the 2026 AIAA Design/Build/Fly (DBF) competition, teams are tasked with designing, building, and testing a banner-towing bush plane. The mission emphasizes both performance and practicality, challenging students to innovate within real-world design constraints. This year's theme revisits elements from past competitions, including the "ducks & pucks" mission. In this mission, teams conduct charter flights carrying passengers (standard rubber ducks) and cargo (standard hockey pucks), aiming to maximize income based on the number of passengers and cargo carried and the number of laps completed. Additionally, teams must complete a banner-towing mission, which requires deploying a banner in flight, completing at least one lap, and releasing the banner before landing. The competition will be held in Wichita, KS, in April.

Your impact 

Your contribution enables us to produce durable aircraft capable of meeting the rigorous requirements of each year’s mission profile. Thanks to the support of our sponsors, we have been able to design and test our aircraft with precision and care. Beyond providing students with invaluable hands-on technical experience, the challenges we’ve encountered over the years have driven us to continuously enhance our designs and performance.

Your support is essential to the ongoing success of the Design Build Fly team. It helps us cultivate the next generation of engineers and brings us closer to achieving our ultimate goal: placing first in competition.

As a registered student organization, we are committed to equal access to all of our programs and do not discriminate based on any protected identity status.