Press Release: VFS Announces the Winners of the 5th Annual Design-Build-Vertical Flight Competition
Betty Chen
1-703-684-6777 x102
Vertical Flight Society Announces the Winners of the
5th Annual Design-Build-Vertical Flight Competition
Case Western Reserve University Wins Top Honors in Student eVTOL Drone Competition
Fairfax, Virginia, USA, April 17, 2025 — The Vertical Flight Society’s fifth annual Design-Build-Vertical Flight (DBVF) Student Competition returned to Churchville, Maryland, this spring with renewed energy, an urgent mission theme, and a powerful demonstration of student ingenuity. The fly-off event was held April 1–4, 2025, at SURVICE Engineering’s Applied Technology Operation facility, the annual DBVF’s host sponsor.
This year’s challenge was both timely and technically ambitious: design, build, and fly an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft tailored for wildfire response.
With drones increasingly integrated into real-world firefighting operations, from perimeter scouting to payload delivery, this year’s scenario gave student teams a chance to build their aircraft to support operations with life-saving potential. Nineteen letters of intent to compete at the beginning of the competition, and eleven teams made it to the end and competed at this year’s fly-off, the final culmination for the competition.
The 2024–2025 competition asked teams to imagine their drone playing a key role in wildfire mitigation, focusing on flight precision and delivering simulated fire retardant via water bottles to designated zones.
The competition consisted of two primary flight missions:
- Flight Mission 1 challenged teams to navigate a rapid waypoint course, testing agility and optional autonomous flight performance.
- Flight Mission 2 challenged teams to achieve precise payload drops, simulating retardant delivery with targets shrinking in size and increasing in difficulty along the way.
Adding a new layer this year, teams were also required to submit a business case in their Final Technical Report, connecting their design to real-world commercial or mission needs. It was a reminder that engineering alone is not enough. Impact comes when design meets purpose.
Case Western Reserve University won first place in the 2024 VFS Design-Build-Vertical Flight Student Competition.
Case Western Reserve University Winning Team: VTOL CWRU.
After many months of hard work, dedication, and perseverance, the following teams earned top honors:
| Place | University | Team | Prize |
| 1st | Case Western Reserve University | VTOL CWRU | $2,200 |
| 2nd | University of Akron | Zips Drone Design | $1,300 |
| 3rd | University of Maryland | AMAV | $700 |
| Top Score Fly-off Performance | Case Western Reserve University | VTOL CWRU | $400 |
| Top Score Final Technical Report | Georgia Institute of Technology | DRXC | $400 |
In addition, fun superlatives were also awarded for memorable moments at the fly-off. The University of Akron earned recognition for the “Most Impressive Reload.” North Carolina A&T, who suffered one of the most severe crashes of the competition, rallied to re-enter the flight line and earned the “Most Impressive Comeback” after earning the “Most Spectacular Crash.” The University of Maryland also impressed judges with their speed and won “Fastest FM-1 Lap,” while North Carolina State University and York College of Pennsylvania were both recognized for "Most Precise Crash Into a Waypoint." Vaughn College boldly became the "First Brave Enough to Try Dropping at Waypoint 4"—the smallest and most difficult drop zone in Flight Mission 2—while the University of Wisconsin–Madison earned "Most Precise Payload Drops."
“This competition is about more than flight. It is about students learning to lead, to collaborate, and to push through setbacks, and the teams did a fantastic job. This year focused on real-world applications, and the ingenuity on display was matched only by the sense of community that made it all possible,” said Adithya Ramaswami, Chair of the VFS DBVF Student Competition.
The impact of these real-world use-cases was highlighted by the competition’s community of sponsors and volunteers. For example, host sponsor SURVICE Engineering designs eVTOL platforms for transport, resupply, and tactical missions. Sponsor Azist Inc. focuses on effective business strategy for public and private sector enterprises, while ParaWave builds automatic detection and notification platforms for drones in emergency response scenarios. For everyone involved, this competition was strongly tied to their respective missions in real world applications.
“I am profoundly grateful to the volunteers, judges, sponsors, and the incredible team at SURVICE Engineering who helped bring this event to life,” said Ramaswami. “Their efforts and the spirit of all the student teams are what make this competition such a powerful force in shaping the future generation of vertical flight. Many members of the VFS and DBVF community are already looking ahead with excitement to next year’s competition.”
The Vertical Flight Society extends its sincere thanks to this year’s Host Sponsor, SURVICE Engineering, for providing access to their FAA-authorized flight test facility and for their continued support of DBVF. Deep appreciation is also extended to Azist Inc., DBVF’s Silver Sponsor this year, for their generous support. Additional gratitude is given to ParaWave’s co-founder and CTO, Jack Murray, for contributing incredible support throughout the competition, as well as to the many members of the VFS and UAS community whose dedication makes this event possible year after year.
Next year’s DBVF Request for Proposals (RFP) will go live by early Fall. For updates and more information, please visit www.vtol.org/fly.
Founded as the American Helicopter Society in 1943, the Vertical Flight Society is the global non-profit society for engineers, scientists and others working on vertical flight technology. For more than 80 years, the Society has led technical, safety, advocacy and other important initiatives, and has been the primary forum for interchange of information on vertical flight technology.
VFS is @VTOLsociety on social media: Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Vimeo and YouTube.
The Vertical Flight Society
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