Competition History
2023 Competition
This is Eris
We returned to Tucson in 2023 for a competition all about electronic warfare. Our plane was designed to fly at high speeds while holding a large payload in one mission, and an unbalanced antenna at the end of one wing in another.
Though we faced technical difficulties onsite, we were able to rebuild our plane, fly it successfully, and even win the award for "Most Learned."
Meet the team
From left to right: Vaughn Rhinehart, Allison Li, Daniel Burns, William Skelly, Marta Chojkiewicz, Tigey Jewell-Alibhai, Ari Bobesh
2022 Competition
This is Caladrius
After a year off campus, we were back to competition this year! With new tools and a developed manufacturing technique for composite airfoils, we designed Caladrius, a vaccine carrying twin boom aircraft with a 7ft wingspan.
We flew to Kansas to compete against 100+ teams from colleges all over the world, and placed 15th overall after successfully completing all missions!
Meet the Team
From left to right: Cherry Pham, Vaani Bhatnagar, Gigi Mancuso-Jackson, Neel Dhulipala, Tigey Jewell-Alibhai, Alex Frye, Andrew Chang, William Skelly, Daniel Burns
2020 Competition
This is Kestrel v.1
Our challenge for 2020 was to build an aircraft capable of deploying and releasing a banner, as well as carrying passengers and luggage. Before the season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, the team was able to finish our first fully fledged prototype.
To learn more about our original end goal for 2020, check out our 2020 Design Report.
Meet the team
From left to right: Tigey Jewell-Alibhai, Zachary Sherman, Mason Grabowski, George Tighe, Katie Gosbee, Nathan Weil, Alex Frye
Not pictured: Chris Lee, Caroline Rausch, Bahar Maghbouleh, Simrun Mutha, Nathan Faber, Kelly Yen, Alana Huitric, and Jasper Katzban
2019 Competition
This is Albatross
In 2019 we were tasked with building a large aircraft that could carry several attack stores, while remaining portable by featuring folding wings. The 2019 DBF Fly-Off was held in Tucson, Arizona, where we competed against 75 other universities from around the world, placing 8th overall in just our second year.
Learn more from our 2019 Design Report.
Meet the team
From left to right: CJ Lather, Katie Gosbee, Nathan Weil, Jacob Regenstein, Alex Scott, Cedric Kim, Caroline Rausch, George Tighe, Mason Grabowski
Not pictured: Alex Frye, Sara Ballantyne, Chris Lee, Remy Boudousquie, Julian Stone
2018 Competition
This is Phoenix 2
In our first year of competition, we traveled to Kansas and brought home 11th with a team of just six students. The 2018 competition requirements called for small and fast aircraft, with minimal passenger capacity.
Learn more from our 2018 Design Report.
Meet the team
From left to right: Jacob Regenstein, Alex Frye, Cedric Kim, Alex Scott, Kevin Guo
Not pictured: Sara Ballantyne