Team MIST DBF has made history by securing 18th place out of 175 universities worldwide in the 2025–26 AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition proposal phase, earning a strong score of 80/100. This result places MIST 3rd in Asia and marks one of the highest international rankings ever achieved by the institute in DBF.

The AIAA DBF competition is one of the world’s most prestigious undergraduate aerospace design events, challenging teams to engineer an unmanned electric aircraft capable of completing a series of complex missions. This year’s theme focuses on a banner-towing bush plane capable of carrying passengers, transporting cargo, and deploying a banner in flight.

MIST’s proposed aircraft, HeisenBird, is a lightweight, efficient, and mission-optimized design featuring a streamlined low-wing configuration, a dedicated passenger and cargo restraint system, and a clean, reliable mechanism for safe banner deployment and release. The aircraft was designed through extensive aerodynamic analysis, optimization studies, and structural planning, demonstrating the team’s strong engineering capability and attention to detail.

This fully student-led team of 42 undergraduate members, guided by faculty advisors Saif Reza, Md Ridwan Hasan, and Nahida Islam, has showcased exceptional technical competence and teamwork on the global stage.

With the proposal round completed, Team MIST DBF now advances to the fabrication and testing phase, preparing HeisenBird for flight at the final fly-off event in Wichita, Kansas, where they will proudly represent MIST and Bangladesh in April 2026.