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Texas A&M University

Vertical Flight Society

What is VFS

The Texas A&M Vertical Flight Society is the Texas A&M chapter of the National Vertical Flight Society, dedicated to advancing vertical flight. On campus, VFS functions as the parent organization for all student vertical flight programs, managing funding, partnerships, logistics, and shared initiatives so teams can focus on execution rather than administration.

VFS Structure

VFS Structure

The Texas A&M Vertical Flight Society is the central organization supporting student vertical flight across campus. VFS manages funding, sponsorships, and logistics while hosting school wide professional events, technical workshops, and industry led training. This centralized model allows technical teams to focus on innovation and creates a consistent pipeline of engineers and leaders with real world experience.

Explore each team to learn more about their missions, structure, and ongoing work.

Vertical Flight Design Team (VFD)

Vertical Flight Design Team (VFD)

VFD is our award-winning design team that designs, builds, and flight tests advanced eVTOL aircraft for the international DBVF competition. The team operates like a real flight program, giving members end to end ownership of high performance systems while consistently competing at the top level.

eVTOL Autonomy and AI Research (eVAIR)

eVTOL Autonomy and AI Research (eVAIR)

eVAIR develops cutting edge autonomy, AI, and control systems for vertical flight through rigorous, student led research. The program emphasizes publishable results, real world validation, and direct preparation for advanced autonomy and robotics roles.

UpLift

UpLift

UpLift delivers semester long, hands on drone engineering programs for underrepresented high school students. Through college mentorship and real design ownership, students build and fly complete aircraft while developing lasting technical confidence.

VFS Officers

VFS Officers

VFS Officers run the organization's operations, partnerships, funding, and growth with real accountability. Officers gain direct experience building and sustaining large scale technical programs with industry impact.

VFS-Wide Opportunities

In addition to its core programs, VFS offers opportunities open to all involved with Vertical Flight. These include open fly days, professional development events, and industry talks that allow members to explore new skills, connect with industry, and engage beyond their primary program.

OPEN FLY DAYS

OPEN FLY DAYS

Open fly days provide all VFS members with hands-on experience in vertical flight operations. These events offer opportunities to pilot drones, observe flight testing, and learn about aircraft systems in a practical setting. Members from all programs come together to share knowledge and experience the excitement of flight.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

VFS organizes professional development events including resume workshops, interview preparation sessions, and career navigation guidance. These events help members build essential skills for their future careers in aerospace and connect with industry professionals and alumni.

INDUSTRY TALKS

INDUSTRY TALKS

Industry talks bring professionals from leading aerospace companies to share insights about current projects, career paths, and industry trends. These events provide valuable networking opportunities and help members understand the broader vertical flight industry landscape.

Membership

VFS offers open general membership to any student interested in vertical flight. Students may become VFS general members at any time by signing up through the website. Programs and the VFS officer team are selective and application based, with applications typically at the start of the fall semester and the end of the spring semester. All programs are open to students of any major and grade level, and members may participate in multiple programs concurrently.