In a few days, the skies above Wichita, Kansas, will come alive as student teams from all over the world set out to compete in the annual AIAA Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition fly-off. Their mission: design, build, and test a banner-towing bush plane, conducting charter flights for passengers (rubber ducks) and cargo (hockey pucks) to pay for the airplane and start a banner towing business.
Thirty years. That’s how long DBF has been shaping engineers into storytellers of flight, turning sketches into machines, and ideas into lift. What began as a competition among a handful of university teams at Ragged Island in Maryland has evolved into something far greater: a proving ground where innovation is measured not just in performance, but in persistence.
- Watch the 2026 SciTech Forum Session: 30 Years of Design/Build/Fly
With three decades in the making, this year isn’t just another competition; it’s a milestone that carries the weight of every design iteration, every sleepless night, and every breakthrough of the thousands of students who came before. Today’s competitors carry that same spirit of ingenuity and determination, blending tradition with cutting-edge ideas as they push the boundaries of what’s possible in aircraft design.
The field is more competitive than ever. Submissions have surged over the last few years, attracting teams from across the globe with each one fighting for the chance to prove their ideas on the world stage. The competition highlights not just skill, but community, with teams sharing supplies, assisting after setbacks, and mentoring one another.
That’s what makes the DBF experience unique. It’s a place where students from everywhere unite around a single shared dream: flight.
What better place to celebrate the past 30 years than Wichita, Kansas, the “Air Capital of the World” and the site of many flyoffs in the past. In Wichita, history and innovation meet. Here, students will take to the skies in a landscape steeped in the legacy of aviation pioneers and industry giants who helped shape flight as we know it.
AIAA Corporate Member Textron Aviation is the local host, with support from RTX as another primary sponsor. Sponsors this year include: (Gold Sponsors) Anduril, General Atomics Aeronautical, MathWorks, and Reliable Robotics; (Bronze Sponsors) AV Inc., Divergent, Fibre Glast, and nTop. Support for the competition comes from several AIAA technical committees: Applied Aerodynamics, Aircraft Design, Flight Test, and Design Engineering. Dozens of volunteers collectively set the rules for the contest, gather entries, judge the written reports, and execute the fly-off.
Livestream Planned for 17–19 April
The DBF experience won’t only be witnessed by those on the ground. For the first time, AIAA is bringing the energy of the competition beyond the Kansas sky and into living rooms, labs, and classrooms worldwide. Viewers can tune into a livestream on AIAA’s YouTube channel on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 17–19 April, to witness the takeoffs, the tense moments, the triumphs, and the heartbreaks in real time.
- Watch the 2026 DBF Livestream on AIAA’s YouTube channel
We are thrilled to be working with NASASpaceFlight (NSF) to deliver the livestream content. NSF is a leading online news resource for spaceflight-specific news, dedicated to expanding the public’s awareness and respect for the spaceflight industry.
Join us online and witness the creativity, ambition, and skill of the next generation in action.
