{"id":20,"date":"2019-07-17T08:21:09","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T12:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/aiaa-club\/?page_id=20"},"modified":"2026-07-07T21:13:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T01:13:55","slug":"dbf","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/aiaa-club\/dbf\/","title":{"rendered":"Design, Build, Fly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

About Us<\/strong>
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The Notre Dame Design, Build, Fly (DBF) team provides students with hands-on experience in aerospace engineering through participation in the annual AIAA Design, Build, Fly competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each year, the team designs, constructs, tests, and flies a large, radio-controlled (RC) aircraft tailored to meet that year\u2019s unique competition rules and mission objectives. Throughout the process, students gain extensive experience in iterative design, creative problem-solving, and the practical application of engineering principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, team members prepare detailed design reports and deliver technical presentations to faculty and industry mentors. This comprehensive experience equips students with the essential skills to excel as engineers.


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The Team<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

DBF consists of students from various engineering disciplines and experience levels, ranging from freshmen to fifth-years. No prior knowledge is required, just a willingness to learn and contribute.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Season<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

From September to April, the team designs, builds, tests, and refines their aircraft. Key milestones include a preliminary design review in the fall and a final technical report in the spring.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Competition<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

DBF competes in the annual AIAA Design, Build, Fly competition, held in Tucson, AZ, or Wichita, KS. The team faces universities worldwide, showcasing their engineering and flight skills.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Contact Us<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Follow us on Instagram<\/a> and connect with us on LinkedIn<\/a> for the latest updates on team activities and operations. For general inquiries, feel free to contact our Project Manager at <\/a>epodol2@nd.edu<\/a> or reach out directly to any member of our leadership team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DBF Leadership<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n


Support DBF<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Support from our sponsors and donors enable us to take on ambitious projects and create meaningful experiences for our team members. If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact our Business Relations Officer, Alyssa Watkins, at awatkin9@nd.edu<\/a>, or Project Manager, Eric Podol, at epodol2@nd.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also appreciate donations of any size, as every contribution makes a difference. Thank you for supporting our team!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Donate<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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About Us The Notre Dame Design, Build, Fly (DBF) team provides students with hands-on experience in aerospace engineering through participation in the annual AIAA Design, Build, Fly competition. Each year, the team designs, constructs, tests, and flies a large, radio-controlled (RC) aircraft tailored to meet that year\u2019s unique competition rules and mission objectives. Throughout the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4812,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/aiaa-club\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/aiaa-club\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/aiaa-club\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/aiaa-club\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4812"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/aiaa-club\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":58,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/aiaa-club\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1089,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/aiaa-club\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20\/revisions\/1089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/aiaa-club\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}