Flitefest 2026 - Aug 6-9 - Dayton OH
- Thread starter FT Dustin
- Start date
plasticjoe
Junior Member
This is so exciting! I would love to contact someone at the event to see if we can coordinate some volunteers from our AMA Club in Dayton!
www.wingmasters.org
I am the president of the club
We might have a member participating in the heavy lift challenge as an advisor! He's led University of Cincinnati in many challenges ! They practice at our field !
Joe Saylor
www.wingmasters.org
I am the president of the club
We might have a member participating in the heavy lift challenge as an advisor! He's led University of Cincinnati in many challenges ! They practice at our field !
Joe Saylor
Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements in the coming weeks.
As you may imagine, working with the military, the government, government contractors, and various other organizations has created more than a little extra work in nailing down the fine details regarding logistics.
For anyone who is part of an organization that wants to reach out about potentially providing volunteers (NOT INDIVIDUAL VOLUNTEERS), reach out to me via PM and we can start a conversation. There are no commitments being made right now, but we can gauge interest this way.
For individuals wanting to sign up to volunteer, please be patient right now. We will have that sign-up available later on. Keep your eyes peeled for updates. We will keep you notified when that opportunity opens up. I will also likely send out an email to last year's volunteers when the time comes. In the meantime, please don't spam my inboxes looking for more info. It will be released when it is available.
Opinion piece:
I just don’t see FliteFest and Darpa being a fit for a combined event. It’s two different audiences.
FliteFest is a family fun hobbyist event (I’ve been going since the start in 2014). It’s grassroots, and it has its own identity and a tradition built. The relaxed atmosphere at its traditional location has been great.
Darpa’s mission statement is “to create and prevent technological surprise for our national security.”. That isn’t what FliteFest is all about. Furthermore, to compete in the Darpa challenge, it appears the contestant has to be part 107 certified, have an experimental aircraft airworthiness cert on the “drone”, and also have a commercial drone license. This is not at all what people at FliteFest do. It’s simply two different activities/audiences. It’s mission does not include supporting the hobbyist. If FF people are interested in it, fine they can go, but let it stand on its own without letting it take away from what FliteFest is by combining.
The Air Force Museum is great (I’ve been there multiple times), but it is open year round and it’s on a military base that is not going to lend itself to the traditional FliteFest atmosphere. I suspect the community “feel” will get lost.
I’ll be just one watching from afar with my popcorn.
I just don’t see FliteFest and Darpa being a fit for a combined event. It’s two different audiences.
FliteFest is a family fun hobbyist event (I’ve been going since the start in 2014). It’s grassroots, and it has its own identity and a tradition built. The relaxed atmosphere at its traditional location has been great.
Darpa’s mission statement is “to create and prevent technological surprise for our national security.”. That isn’t what FliteFest is all about. Furthermore, to compete in the Darpa challenge, it appears the contestant has to be part 107 certified, have an experimental aircraft airworthiness cert on the “drone”, and also have a commercial drone license. This is not at all what people at FliteFest do. It’s simply two different activities/audiences. It’s mission does not include supporting the hobbyist. If FF people are interested in it, fine they can go, but let it stand on its own without letting it take away from what FliteFest is by combining.
The Air Force Museum is great (I’ve been there multiple times), but it is open year round and it’s on a military base that is not going to lend itself to the traditional FliteFest atmosphere. I suspect the community “feel” will get lost.
I’ll be just one watching from afar with my popcorn.
I don't know.
I've been to that Air Force base when they hosted an AMA jet event. They opened a hanger for a work area, teams from around the world were there, it was a very inviting. Granted it was not near the size of FF. The DARPA video described the layout exactly as a traditional FF.
See this post for the darpa video
I've been to that Air Force base when they hosted an AMA jet event. They opened a hanger for a work area, teams from around the world were there, it was a very inviting. Granted it was not near the size of FF. The DARPA video described the layout exactly as a traditional FF.
See this post for the darpa video
DARPA Lift Challenge - Aug 2-9, 2026
Come if you can. Aug 2-9 2026 to Dayton OH $6.5 million in prize money.
forum.flitetest.com
Austin’s Mom
New member
I echo @Pittsbird’s sentiments and I would like to add a few thoughts of my own.
First, congratulations to Flite Test for landing what I am sure is an incredible opportunity with DARPA! I’m certain that the financial trickle down will be very good for Flite Test as a business and provide FT with greater visibility in a world that seems to be diversifying quickly. I’m sure this partnership has been no small feat for those in leadership of Flite Test!
For those of you who are not OG, I want to give you a little history lesson of Flite Fest. In early 2014, our son Austin, the originator, brains, and brawn of the origin of Flite Fest, approached his Dad, John Furey, with a proposition mixed with a request. The request was to gather a small group of friends for a weekend of flying here at Furey Airfield (now Furey Airpark). We still don’t know what the proposition was but we loved his idea and “yes” was not a difficult nod to give! John and Austin brainstormed, planned and then implemented a weekend that culminated in a tad over 2000 attendees from the original “few friends”. The community and fellowship that happened that weekend was unprecedented in what was hoped for, and untouchable in the outreach that laid a foundation for future Flite Fests. It was stressed by the leadership through the subsequent years of Flite Fest that this event was about the community! It was about bringing friends and family together to create an even greater sense of extended family. It was stressed this event was not about making money, rather it was about making relationships. My husband gave his full blessing for working hard to create a community that looked forward to what it has been called a “family reunion” each summer. John and I have personally invested time, planning, and hard work into making this possible each year. We turned over our land and our privacy, to facility RC of all forms in the day sky and the night sky and I can say with absolute certainty this has brought us incredible pleasure.
Our town, our foothill Appalachia town of Malvern, has come to adore Flite Fest! Local businesses stock up on supplies and acquire help to provide those who need groceries, alcohol, fuel, ice, and restaurant service and those businesses loved it. Not just for the economic benefits those few days offered, but to show off our wonderful little town; and thus the “community” aspect grew even more encompassing. The local farmer rotates her crops to accommodate the land area needs of Flite Fest. Neighbors sit on their front porches and in their yards to watch the event. It is truly become a community event
Yesterday morning, I learned (after the Youtube announcement was made) that Flite Fest was being moved from Malvern to Dayton to accommodate the demands DARPA made to take part in the Flite Fest reunion scheduled in June. I was told it was because another farmer wouldn’t give up their crops to provide the additional land DARPA required to hold their event in conjunction with Flite Fest. The rest of the story was in the ‘exciting release’ on Youtube yesterday. Let me stress, both myself and the farmer were told AFTER this exciting release for new dates and locations. I wish this is the only part I am angry and disappointed about.
My greatest disappointment is that financial gains took precedence over the “community” that was so openly talked about as the primary goal of Flite Fest. DARPA and the “community” that happens at Flite Fest are incompatible. They are two equally valid but SEPARATE events and goals.
Flite Fest 2027 is an uncertainty here at Furey Field. I will not begin talks with Flite Fest leadership until Fall 2026 after their DARPA event is finished and closed out. Should we come to agreement on how to move forward, there will be stipulations in place to ensure that what happens here at Furey Field is a true community event with financial gain being the last criteria to be met.
If you are an OG, you know that this comes from my heart and a fierce sense of loyalty to the original goal of Flite Fest. It was never about the money.
We are trying to figure out a way to open up the land here from June 19th - 21st for those who want to come fly their RC with their friends and family at no cost. It will be without the amenities of an organized event, but our desire is that those who want to can come fly.
While we're pretty excited about it, we can see how this year's extra event may not be for everyone. DARPA is a really neat program though. They push technology forward by leaps instead of small increments. This challenge creates opportunities for just about anyone to participate and take home a big prize while advancing the technology in the hobby. I don't think they've ever had a challenge so open before. The heavy lift challenge in particular promises to be really interesting to watch as well. While we're out crashing into each other, we may get to see some of these advanced machines crash spectacularly while carrying a big payload -- which, by the way, is why their flying area is going to be pretty far from the crowds. But we'll get to keep an eye on the action via some monitors and leaderboards that will be posted. It's our desire that a lot of folks from the community get involved so we can cheer them on!
But even if someone doesn't want to participate or even watch the challenge, it's definitely not required. Flite Fest will have the standard fare that Flite Fest has - the Build Tents, the community, the wacky flying machines, and the combat of course. As a bonus, they are steps away from the museum, which is fantastic! While it's open other times, I've personally heard from a number of folks that they wish they had time to visit it before or after Flite Fest, and this gives them the chance to do exactly that. But of course, that's optional too. If you want to enjoy Flite Fest in the usual ways, you'll find that it won't really be different aside from all of that awesome access.
While the museum location is spectacular, we actually went through a lot of effort to keep it in Malvern. That's a big reason why the announcement was delayed so far, and rumors went back and forth. We spoke with land-owners, county officials, other event organizers in the area, and all sorts of other folks, trying to find a solution that met all of the needs of Flite Fest 2026. We looked at a lot of options for leasing more property and things like that but ultimately, we couldn't get enough space to contain it this year.
While we're excited about this rare opportunity, we don't expect Flite Fest to be at the Air Force museum every year going forward and we're looking forward to being back home at Furey Field next year. We love the amazing community in Malvern and we're especially grateful to the Furey family for everything they do for Flite Fest. We really are a part of the most incredible community!
Thanks for the back story of Flite Fest! That's quite a lot of work and sacrifice for you and your family. I hope this all gets sorted out. Wish I lived closer, I'd be there in June if I could make it.
Houndpup Rc
Legendary member
Wouldn't it be cool though if a "nobody" who builds stuff out of his garage is able to making something that at least is a good runner or even a winner and is incorporated into modern technology!? Should be interesting to see what the biggest would community behind building planes from "foamboard" can do!😁👍
SlingShot
Maneuvering With Purpose
You should see the movie "Spare Parts" about the the darkhorse team in the robot submarine competition.
kingfieldbill
Member
question for the ohioans here. malvern is about as far west in ohio i've been. anyone have any suggestions for things to see/do as we head to dayton? it's always nice to have a stop to break up the drive.
Well. If cycling is your 2nd favorite hobby, there are loads of awesome trails nearby. Yellow Springs is trite but popular. Columbus has loads to offer, Cosi, etc.
This is a great read. Thank you for sharing the story and your feelings about the news. I plan my year around Flite Fest, and Malvern is, to me, an integral part of the experience. I always bike into town for groceries, dinner, a beer at the pub, or just to see how many locals stop to ask if I'm here with the Fest and hear how much they enjoy having it there. I hope that Dayton will have the same free for all flying that we enjoy at Fuery Field, but given it's location and proximity to a military base, I feel there will be more restrictions. We'll have to see. I will make every effort to attend and support an event at either or both locations, but if the nice church ladies selling cans of pop and Gatorade out of the van aren't there, it's not Flite Fest. Just sayin. 😉
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