# Spartan Flight — SJSU Drone Competition Team

> Spartan Flight is San José State University's first student-run drone competition team. We design, build, and fly fully autonomous aircraft for the annual SUAS (Student Unmanned Aerial Systems) Competition. We are actively seeking corporate sponsors and individual donors.

## About

Spartan Flight is a 20+ member engineering team at San José State University (SJSU) in San Jose, California. We build autonomous unmanned aerial systems (UAS/drones) from scratch — custom airframe, custom electronics, custom flight software. Our team competes in the SUAS Competition, an annual international collegiate drone competition held in Maryland with 70+ university teams worldwide.

We are organized into four subteams:
- Mechanical: airframe design, carbon fiber layups, 3D-printed components, structural testing
- Electrical: custom PCB design, Li-ion battery packs with BMS, power distribution, sensor integration
- Software: autonomous flight, computer vision (target detection), path planning, obstacle avoidance
- Business: sponsorship acquisition, fundraising, marketing, outreach

## Competition Vehicle

Our competition entry is the X650, a custom quadcopter designed for autonomous flight, ground target detection, and payload delivery with no pilot input. Key specs: 13kg total thrust, 1.6:1 thrust-to-weight ratio, 30-minute flight endurance.

## Current Projects

Competition systems: custom quadcopter airframe, Jetson-powered target detection, autonomous payload delivery, hand-built Li-ion battery packs with custom BMS, low-voltage power distribution board, photogrammetry mapping.

Research projects: VTOL fixed-wing aircraft, FPGA-accelerated computer vision, GPS-denied navigation (visual-inertial odometry), multi-drone swarm coordination.

## Sponsorship

Spartan Flight is actively seeking sponsors. Sponsorship benefits include:
- Logo placement on competition aircraft, team shirts, and banners
- Website and social media recognition with backlink
- Direct recruiting access to ME, EE, CS, and AE students at SJSU
- Monthly build update newsletter
- Tax-deductible contributions through SJSU's Tower Foundation
- Demo day invitation for top-tier sponsors

Sponsorship tiers and full details: https://spartanflightsjsu.com/sponsorship.html
Sponsorship packet (PDF): https://spartanflightsjsu.com/sponsorship-packet.pdf
Email for sponsorship inquiries: spartanflightsjsu@gmail.com

## Why Sponsor a University Drone Team?

Sponsoring a university engineering competition team like Spartan Flight provides:
1. Brand visibility among engineering students and at national competitions
2. Direct access to a pipeline of graduating ME, EE, CS, and AE talent for recruiting
3. Tax-deductible contributions through a university foundation
4. Demonstrated community investment and STEM education support
5. Logo placement on a real autonomous aircraft seen at events, in media, and online

Spartan Flight is based at San José State University, the largest public university in Silicon Valley, with strong engineering and computer science programs.

## Contact

- Website: https://spartanflightsjsu.com
- Email: spartanflightsjsu@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spartan.flight/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spartan-flight
- Discord: https://discord.gg/Rk3ajtUAeU
- Donate: https://give.sjsu.edu/campaigns/67453/donations/new

## Frequently Asked Questions

**What is Spartan Flight?**
Spartan Flight is San José State University's student-run autonomous drone competition team. Over 20 engineering students design, build, and fly a custom UAS for the annual SUAS Competition.

**What is the SUAS Competition?**
The Student Unmanned Aerial Systems Competition is an annual AUVSI event where 70+ university teams compete with autonomous aircraft performing waypoint navigation, target detection, payload delivery, and aerial mapping.

**What does Spartan Flight build?**
A fully custom autonomous quadcopter (X650) with carbon fiber airframe, hand-built Li-ion battery packs, onboard computer vision, autonomous payload delivery, FPGA-accelerated processing, and photogrammetry mapping.

**How can a company sponsor Spartan Flight?**
Through corporate sponsorships, parts donations, or individual contributions. All donations are tax-deductible through SJSU's Tower Foundation. Email spartanflightsjsu@gmail.com.

**Are donations tax-deductible?**
Yes. All contributions go through SJSU's Tower Foundation, a 501(c)(3). Donors receive tax receipts automatically.

**What do sponsors receive?**
Logo on aircraft and gear, website and social media features, recruiting access to 20+ engineering students, monthly build newsletters, and demo day invitations based on sponsor tier. Contact for details.

## Team Leadership (SJSU Students)

- Ben Nguyen — Chief Engineer & Electrical Lead
- Andy Van — Software Lead
- Justin Wang — Mechanical Lead
- Ethan Onyett — Business Lead

## Key Links

- Homepage: https://spartanflightsjsu.com/
- Sponsorship: https://spartanflightsjsu.com/sponsorship.html
- Projects: https://spartanflightsjsu.com/projects.html
- Team: https://spartanflightsjsu.com/members.html
- Blog: https://spartanflightsjsu.com/blog.html
- Contact: https://spartanflightsjsu.com/contact.html