Design/Build/Fly at UCLA

What Design/Build/Fly at UCLA does

Design/Build/Fly at UCLA is the colloquial name for the AIAA Student Branch at UCLA's Design/Build/Fly (DBF) technical project — a non-commercial student organization founded in 2012 and housed under the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The parent AIAA Student Branch operates four parallel technical projects: Design/Build/Fly (DBF), Rocket Project (RP), Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS), and Bruin Spacecraft Group (BSG). DBF designs, constructs, and tests unmanned electric-powered radio-controlled aircraft to compete in the annual AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition.

The DBF team's primary deliverable is a remote-controlled low-wing aircraft constructed from carbon fiber, wood, and plastics, optimized to deploy, tow, and release a 249-inch banner while enabling rapid loading of payloads during timed ground missions. The most recent aircraft, "Duck Duck Goose," achieved 3rd place overall out of 98 teams and 11th place in Design Report at the AIAA DBF competition in Wichita, Kansas — the highest overall placement and first podium finish in UCLA DBF history.

The organization has no commercial revenue model. It is funded through industry sponsorships (including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Technologies, Anduril Industries, Shield AI, Aerojet RocketDyne, Varda Space Industries, The Aerospace Corporation, SolidWorks, Airtech, and Ansys) and supported by the UCLA Samueli School. Members are UCLA students of any major interested in aviation or space, and the organization's primary value proposition is hands-on engineering experience, resume-building, and industry networking — not commercial product delivery.

Name

Design/Build/Fly at UCLA

Legal name

AIAA Student Branch at UCLA

Website

https://aiaa.seas.ucla.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Design/Build/Fly at UCLA is the AIAA Student Branch at UCLA's Design/Build/Fly technical project — a non-commercial student organization that designs, builds, and tests unmanned electric RC aircraft for the annual AIAA DBF competition, serving UCLA students interested in aerospace.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Aerospace Engineering Projects

NAICS

Aircraft Manufacturing (336411), Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing (33641)

SIC

Aircraft (3721), Aircraft & Parts (3720)

akta.pro primary industry

Fixed-Wing Aircraft Kits & Experimental Aircraft Manufacturing (IMABAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

UAS Integration, Certification & Compliance Systems (Remote ID, Detect-and-Avoid) (IMABAIAO)

Keywords

• Student aerospace projects
• Unmanned aircraft design
• Rocketry engineering competition
• Drone system development
• Cubesat mission development

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles, CA

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Design/Build/Fly at UCLA is a student technical project under the AIAA Student Branch at UCLA that designs, constructs, and tests unmanned electric-powered radio-controlled aircraft for the annual AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition. The team builds aircraft from carbon fiber, wood, and plastics, optimized to complete specific missions including speed runs, payload delivery, and timed ground operations, competing against university teams nationally.

Product overview

Design/Build/Fly at UCLA is the UCLA Student Branch of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The organization operates four distinct student technical projects: Design/Build/Fly (DBF), Rocket Project (RP), Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS), and Bruin Spacecraft Group (BSG). DBF focuses on designing, building, and testing unmanned electric-powered radio-controlled aircraft for the annual AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition. These are student-led engineering projects that provide hands-on aerospace experience rather than commercial products or services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Design/Build/Fly (DBF): Student technical project competing in the AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition - designing, building, and testing unmanned electric-powered radio-controlled aircraft
• Rocket Project (RP)
• Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS)
• Bruin Spacecraft Group (BSG)

Products and services

• Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition Team

Quantifiable outcome

• 3rd place overall out of 98 teams at AIAA Design Build Fly competition
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Caltech Aerospace (GALCIT): Caltech's Graduate Aerospace Laboratories with active student-led rocketry and small-satellite programs. Comparable as a peer institution competing in intercollegiate rocketry and CubeSat-class missions.
• Cornell Rocketry Team: Cornell's student rocket team competing in IREC and Spaceport America Cup with high-altitude rockets. Directly comparable to UCLA Rocket Project in mission profile, competition circuit, and student-driven engineering model.
• Georgia Tech Student Aerospace Teams: Georgia Tech's portfolio of student aerospace design/build teams including rocketry and UAS projects. Comparable as a peer engineering school fielding multiple aerospace competition teams with industry sponsorship pipelines.
• MIT Rocket Team: MIT's intercollegiate rocketry competition team designing and launching high-power rockets. Comparable to UCLA's Rocket Project given both compete at events like IREC and target high-altitude amateur rocketry milestones.
• Stanford Space Initiative: Stanford's multidisciplinary student aerospace organization designing, building, and testing rockets and spacecraft. Directly comparable to UCLA AIAA as a university student org competing in intercollegiate aerospace competitions and pursuing CubeSat-class missions.
• Purdue Space Program (PSPL) / Purdue AAE: Purdue's student-led aerospace program operating multiple project teams in aircraft, rocketry, and spacecraft design. Closely mirrors UCLA AIAA's four-project structure (DBF-equivalent, rocket, UAS, CubeSat) within a comparable top-tier aerospace engineering school.

Broad incumbents

• Lockheed Martin: Largest defense prime and UCLA AIAA sponsor. Comparable as the dominant aerospace/defense incumbent that recruits heavily from university aerospace programs of this type.
• Boeing: Major aerospace prime and current UCLA AIAA sponsor. Relevant as a broad incumbent in the same industry whose hiring and sponsorship pipeline connects to the student organization's talent output.

Emerging players

• Anduril Industries: New-era defense technology company and UCLA AIAA sponsor focused on autonomous systems, UAS, and AI-powered aircraft. Comparable as an emerging player whose UAS and autonomy work overlaps directly with UCLA's UAS project domain.

Others

• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA): The national professional society and parent organization of the UCLA chapter. Relevant as the sponsoring body, competition host (AIAA DBF), and ecosystem enabler rather than as a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dbf-ucla
• Instagraminstagram.com/aiaa_ucla

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Design/Build/Fly at UCLA