The University of Akron’s Zips Aero Design Team continued its national rise with a top-five overall finish at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Design Build Fly Competition, held April 16-19 in Wichita, Kan.

Hosted at the Textron Aviation Employees’ Flying Club at Beech Factory Airport, the annual competition brought together 98 of the world’s top collegiate engineering teams, selected from an initial pool of 175 through a rigorous proposal and design report submission process.

This year’s challenge required teams to design and build a banner-towing aircraft capable of completing multiple mission profiles. Aircraft were tasked with demonstrating empty flight, carrying a payload of rubber ducks and hockey pucks, and executing the deployment, towing and release of a large banner in flight. Aircraft were also scored on turnaround time in the ground mission.

UA’s entry, The Roo Express, was optimized for the banner flight and the ground mission. The aircraft carried the minimum required payload of three ducks and one puck, featured an automatic payload ejection system, and successfully towed a 236.75-inch by 47.25-inch University of Akron banner for four laps around the half-mile course, performing under challenging wind conditions.

The team’s strong execution resulted in the third-highest mission score in the competition, propelling UA to a fifth-place finish overall in a tightly contested global field.

Preparation for the competition began in late August 2025 when rules were released. The team designed and flew a prototype aircraft ahead of winter break, using those results to refine the final competition aircraft built in March. In addition to flight performance, teams were evaluated on extensive written submissions, with UA placing 13th out of 175 teams in the initial design proposal and 34th out of 98 in the final design report.

The Roo Express in flight while towing one of the largest banners in the competition.

Zips Aero brought 23 students to the competition, led by aerospace systems engineering seniors Robert Johnson, Colin Flowers and Carson Holt. The team is advised by Dr. Nicholas Garafolo, associate professor of mechanical engineering.

“This result reflects the strength of our students and the hands-on, high-impact education they receive at The University of Akron,” Garafolo said. “They are working at a level that mirrors real-world engineering, which is why they’re so well prepared to contribute from day one. Zips Aero has established itself as a truly top-tier engineering team.”

The competition was livestreamed for the first time, with commentary provided by NASA Spaceflight, giving teams a global audience and adding to the excitement of the event.

Aerospace systems engineering students Theodore Bickley and Noah Cohen complete the ground mission.

“This year, everything came together when it mattered most,” said Gabe Frantz, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering and member of the three-person flight crew. “We built The Roo Express to be strong, lightweight and reliable — ‘built like a Mac truck’ — and it performed exactly as we designed it to.”

With another top finish on the international stage, the Zips Aero Design Team continues to showcase the strength of The University of Akron’s engineering curriculum. Through experiences like Design Build Fly, students graduate with the technical expertise, teamwork and real-world problem-solving skills that make them highly sought after by employers and prepared to contribute from day one.