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

You’re not just building a car—you’re building engineering skills that last. 
5/4/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

Ansys Innovation Courses offer FSAE and Baja SAE student teams free access to learn practical simulation techniques

Attend the Young Automotive Professionals Conference (YAPC)! 
4/30/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

SAE Detroit Section is hosting the Young Automotive Professional's Conference in June!

Aero West: 2026 MathWorks Simulation Award Winners 
4/20/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

Congratulations to the 2026 MathWorks Simulation Award Winners from SAE Aero Design West!

SAE Expert Insights: Computational aspects of Automotive Aerodynamics 
4/20/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

Sign up for Parvez Sukheswalla's lecture about advances in high performance computing (HPC) continue to transform computational aerodynamics April 21st at 2 pm ET.

Pilot Meeting at 7:35 
4/19/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

Pilots and team captains report to the flight line by 7:35

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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!