RPI DESIGN BUILD FLY

Design Build Fly (DBF) is an international aircraft design competition in which student teams from universities across the world design, build, and fly a remote controlled aircraft. Each year the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) presents a new design challenge requiring the design of a completely new aircraft. The competition is designed to provide college students with engineering project experience similar to the challenges they will experience in the workforce. Many alumni from RPI DBF now work at major aerospace companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman. You can find out more about the competition at the Design Build Fly website.

RPI DBF is an extra-curricular activity that meets twice per week in the design phase and as often as possible during the build and test phases. The team made its first appearance at the 2008 competition and entered the Top 3 with a 3rd place finish in the 2013 competition. More recently, the team has seen continued success, placing 11th in 2024, 5th in 2025, and 6th in the 2026 competition.