Advanced Vertical Flight Laboratory

AVFL

vff

Welcome

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The Advanced Vertical Flight Laboratory (AVFL) is a facility in the Aerospace Engineering Department of Texas A&M University that conducts inter-disciplinary fundamental research in the following broad areas:

Research interests

  • Next generation vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) concepts
  • Unmanned underwater and amphibious vehicle concepts.
  • High efficiency vertical axis wind and tidal turbines
  • Novel aircraft concepts for planetary exploration
  • Active space debris removal concepts
  • Energy efficient green aviation
  • Autonomy for VTOL aircraft
  • Electric VTOL powertrain
  • Bio-inspired flight
  • Quiet rotors

AVFL sweeps 2021 VFS scholarships

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Vertical Flight Society (VFS) logo.

AVFL students have won scholarships in every category of the 2021 Vertical Flight Foundation (VFF) Scholarship program.

  1. Joseph Heimerl (BS): Michael J. Rutkowski Scholarship, honoring the NASA/US Army aeromechanics engineer and leader.
  2. Melanie Peavy (BS): Tom Wood Honorary Scholarship, which recognizes more than 50 years of technical contributions to Bell by Mr. Wood.
  3. Hunter Denton (MS): Barry J. Baskett Scholarship, honoring the memory of a career US Army engineer who led Aviation Engineering, and later managed the Aviation Technology Base Program.
  4. Farid Saemi (PhD, 2 time winner): Dr. John Zuk Scholarship, honoring the NASA engineer who was a champion of civil tiltrotor technology and applications.

This is the third year in a row that AVFL students have won all categories of the VFF scholarships and the seventh year in a row that they have won scholarships at large.

Past winners include: Bochan Lee (2x), David Coleman (2x), Joel White, Atanu Halder, James McElreath, Kanika Gakhar, Adam Kellen, and Brett Himmelberg.

Full press release: link

AVFL sweeps 2020 VFS scholarships

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AVFL students have won scholarships in every category of the 2020 Vertical Flight Foundation (VFF) Scholarship program.

  1. Grant Erickson (BS): Geoff Byham Scholarship, honoring an architect of advanced rotor aerodynamics at Westland Helicopters, Yeovil, England (now Leonardo Helicopters)
  2. Grant McCurdy (BS): Bob Lynn Scholarship, which honors the memory of the former Bell Helicopter executive and VFS leader par excellence
  3. Farid Saemi (MS): Tom Wood Honorary Scholarship, which recognizes more than 50 years of technical contributions to Bell Helicopter by Mr. Wood
  4. Bochan Lee: (PhD, 2-time recipient): Barry J. Baskett Scholarship, honoring the memory of a career US Army engineer who led Aviation Engineering, and later managed the Aviation Technology Base Program

This is the sixth year in a row that AVFL students have won scholarships sponsored by the global Vertical Flight Society (VFS).

Past winners include: David Coleman (2x), Joel White, Atanu Halder, James McElreath, Kanika Gakhar, Adam Kellen, and Brett Himmelberg.

Full press release: link