GT engineering students were recognized when the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced the winners of the 2010-2011 Cessna Aircraft Company/Raytheon Missile Systems/AIAA Foundation Student Design/Build/Fly Competition held in April at the Tucson International Modelplex Park Association (TIMPA) Airfield, Tucson, Ariz. The winning team, "There Will Be Buzz," from the Georgia Institute of Technology, received the $2,500 first place award. 

Sponsored by the AIAA Foundation, Cessna Aircraft, and Raytheon Missile Systems, the Design/Build/Fly Competition is now in its fifteenth year. This year's event featured over 200 flights, with over 30 teams successfully completing all three mission profiles comprising the event. The competition also saw its first community college participant, a team from Monroe Community College, in Rochester, N.Y.

The Design/Build/Fly Competition challenges teams of undergraduate and graduate students to design and fabricate a radio-controlled aircraft conforming to strict guidelines, fly it over a defined course while carrying a payload, and land it without damage. The judges also evaluate the written design report submitted by each team with its aircraft. The final score is a combination of the points awarded for an aircraft's flights and for its design report. For more information about the AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition, visit www.aiaadbf.org.