SAE AERO DESIGN

The SAE Aero Design competition is intended to provide undergraduate and graduate engineering students with a real-life engineering challenge. The competition has been designed to provide exposure to the kinds of situations that engineers face in their real-life work environment. First and foremost a design competition, students will find themselves performing trade studies and making compromises to arrive at a design solution that will optimally meet the mission requirements while still conforming to the configuration limitations. The importance of interpersonal communication skills is sometimes overlooked, yet both written and oral communication skills are vital in the engineering workplace. To help teams develop these skills, a high percentage of a team's score is devoted to the design report and the oral presentation required in the competition. SAE Aero Design features three classes of competition-Regular, Advanced, and Micro. Regular Class continues to be the class with the purpose to develop the fundamental understanding of flight. We recommended Regular Class for first year teams interested in competing. Advanced Class requires teams to have a systems approach to the design while integrating several engineering disciplines: aeronautical, mechanical, electrical, and computer engineers. The ultimate end goal for this class is autonomous flight with a "purpose" decided every year by rules committee members. Micro Class teams are required to make trades between two potentially conflicting requirements, carrying the highest payload fraction possible, while simultaneously pursuing the lowest empty weight possible.
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Team Login

Team members and faculty: Click here to login to www.saeaerodesign.com
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News Feed

Click here to visit the SAE Aero Design news feed today!
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Results

View SAE Aero Design competition results dating back to 2017 here.
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Volunteer

We provide the Experience; You supply the Knowledge. Volunteer Today!
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Sponsors

Interested in getting involved? Reach out to [email protected] today!

SERIES NEWSFEED

Regular Class Rules Addendum - Payload Prediction Bonus 
1/23/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

We have added a Regular Class Rules Addendum for Section 4.5. This involves a Payload Prediction Bonus. Go to Series Resources to download this file. Make sure you follow the directions for the proper formatting of the file to be submitted. This does not pertain to Micro or Advanced Classes.

Aero Lab: Signup Before Lottery Closes 
1/21/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

The 5 person team limit has been dropped. Take advantage of this today by signing up for the new SAE Aero Design East add-on event prior to the lottery closing. Don't miss out!

TOMORROW SAE Expert Insights: Reliability of Electric Vehicles 
1/19/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

Sign up for Dr. Jay Zhou's presentation about the increasing reliability of EVs Jan 20 at 2pm ET

2026 MathWorks Simulation Award 
1/15/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

Win cash prizes and gain national recognition by showcasing your team’s creativity and engineering power in a three-minute video demonstrating how you used MATLAB and Simulink to tackle your Aero Design challenge!

Aero Lab - Signup Error Fixed 
1/15/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

The issue preventing signups for the new aero add-on lab has been resolved - teams are now able to successfully register for the lottery now. Signups will close on Jan 21 with reg list published Jan 22.

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Team Login

Team members and faculty: Click here to login to www.saeaerodesign.com
widget 
News Feed

Click here to visit the SAE Aero Design news feed today!
widget 
Results

View SAE Aero Design competition results dating back to 2017 here.
widget 
Volunteer

We provide the Experience; You supply the Knowledge. Volunteer Today!
widget 
Sponsors

Interested in getting involved? Reach out to [email protected] today!

widget 
Team Login

Team members and faculty: Click here to login to www.saeaerodesign.com
widget 
News Feed

Click here to visit the SAE Aero Design news feed today!
widget 
Results

View SAE Aero Design competition results dating back to 2017 here.
widget 
Volunteer

We provide the Experience; You supply the Knowledge. Volunteer Today!
widget 
Sponsors

Interested in getting involved? Reach out to [email protected] today!