For the first time ever, students from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Daytona Beach Campus took top honors at the 2024 AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition. Another Embry-Riddle squad from the Prescott Campus also finished in the top 10, earning eighth place overall and completing a stellar showing by the world’s leading aviation and aerospace educator.
This year’s Design/Build/Fly (DBF) challenge required teams of students to design, build and test a remotely operated, radio-controlled airplane for urban air mobility. Hosted by Textron Aviation in Wichita, Kansas, the 2024 event included more than 1,000 students representing 93 universities worldwide, the largest in the competition’s 28-year history. The student-designed drone had to conduct a delivery flight, a medical transport flight and an urban taxi flight, plus a ground mission that demonstrated how quickly the aircraft could be converted from delivery to medical transport to urban air taxi. “Embry-Riddle students who participate in the AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition are impressive in their dedication, innovation and leadership,” said Dr. Jim Gregory, dean of the College of Engineering at the Daytona Beach Campus. “They are learning critical skills that will serve them well throughout their careers. Their first-place win is evidence of their excellence.”
The Daytona Beach team dominated the competition with its uncrewed aircraft, christened “W.R.E.N.C.H.,” for Wind Resistant Emergency Navigator for Civilians and Healthcare, and earned $3,000 for their victory. “The team has worked tirelessly to design, build and test the best aircraft possible, often pushing themselves to their limits,” said Andrew Bunn (’24), a senior Aerospace Engineering student who served as project lead. “This victory represents the culmination of 10 years of DBF activities at the Daytona Beach Campus and was made possible through our culture of continuous improvement and dedication to learning above all else.”
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