UB AIAA students achieve best results ever in Design/Build/Fly

Students in the UB chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) participated in the 2025 Design/Build/Fly Competition in Tucson, Ariz.—securing 12^th place out of 112 teams and finishing with UB’s best results ever.

The AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition challenges student teams from around the world to design, fabricate, and demonstrate the flight capabilities of an unmanned, electric powered, radio-controlled aircraft while also meeting the goals of specific mission profile.

"One of the most exciting aspects of Design/Build/Fly is how the mission is different every year. This year, we were given an especially hard task of designing a UAV glider that is attached and released from the main aircraft,” said Frank Robles, 2024-2025 UB AIAA President. 

The autonomous glider served as test vehicle in a challenge that required teams to design, build, and test an airplane to execute an X-1 Supersonic Flight Test Program. Judges evaluated teams on vehicle performance and how well they met affordable manufacturing requirements.

In addition to placing 12^th overall with their aircraft Bull Shark, the UB team finished in 1st place in Mission 2, which involved carrying the heaviest possible load while completing three laps with their glider as quickly as possible. 

“We scored the highest on Mission 2 thanks to our large cargo weight capacity and optimized propulsion system, leading to a cruise velocity of over 90 mph,” said Robles.

Plans for designing and fabricating Bull Shark, as well as the logistics of transporting the aircraft to Arizona, began early in the academic year.

“Figuring out how to transport an airplane with huge and complex geometry, safely within airline guidelines, was quite a challenging task,” said Humza Khan, 2024-2025 UB AIAA Vice President.

Despite logistical obstacles, the team found the experience a rewarding one in the end.

“Getting to 12^th place internationally in the 2025 Design/Build/Fly competition is among our proudest achievements,” said Khan. “I'm proud of our teamwork and the level of understanding that was required in a team of 24 to work in certain unison to achieve that level of performance.”

The team was led by co-captains Vladzislav Slesarenka and Dillon Heinzman, and advised by Aaron Estes, associate professor of teaching in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

“The team poured countless hours into the design, analysis, manufacturing, and testing of the Bull Shark aircraft. We are very appreciative to our faculty for all of the support, guidance, and mentorship they contributed to the formation of these young engineers,” said Estes.