TAMU VFD Wins National VFS Competition
The Texas A&M Vertical Flight Design team takes home first place in its inaugural year at the National Vertical Flight Society’s fourth annual Design-Build-Vertical Flight (DBVF) Competition. Read the official press release and view our final technical report.
When TAMU Vertical Flight Design, Texas A&M’s inaugural competitive design team focused on eVTOL aircraft, convened for our first meeting in September 2023, our goal was simple: to create an aircraft capable of flight and ready for competition challenges. Fast forward to April 10, and we found ourselves in Maryland, ready to compete alongside talented teams from other universities including the University of Maryland, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
After two semesters of hard work—researching, modeling, analyzing, fabricating, and testing—we arrived with a competition-ready aircraft and a team confident in our design and the knowledge we had gained along the way.
Despite facing increasingly challenging weather conditions over three days, we showcased our design and delivered a technical presentation highlighting our strategies and the strengths of our aircraft.
In the end, our efforts paid off as we secured victory in the overall competition and earned recognition for the best flight performance. This success wouldn't have been possible without the support of our competition coordinators, gracious hosts, generous sponsors, and the camaraderie shared with fellow college teams in attendance.
Additionally, we want to express our appreciation to our team sponsors, the Texas A&M Good Bull Fund, Bradley L. Worsham, and the Texas A&M Aerospace Engineering Advisory Board for their loyal support throughout our journey, and to our faculty advisor Dr. Mobile Benedict for his mentorship and encouragement. Your belief in our vision and commitment to our team played a crucial role in our success.
We're grateful for the support we've received and excited for what lies ahead as we continue to push the boundaries of innovation at Texas A&M.
