DARPA Lift Challenge Overview (2026 Transformative Vertical Flight Conference)

DARPA presentation at Vertical Flight Society · January 29, 2026

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Opening: Wright brothers' first flight

Presentation

0:07 → 0:41(35s)

Philip Smith opens with the Wright brothers' 1903 flight at Kill Devil Hills and frames historical milestones in aviation as examples of audacity that changed the field.

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Philip Smith of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) presented the DARPA Lift Challenge at a Vertical Flight Society event, outlining rules (55 lb vehicle must lift 110 lb payload), goals, FAA coordination for exemptions, a proposed Dayton, Ohio August contest site, and a roughly $6.5 million prize pot (speaker gave approximate figures).

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Transcript

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