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

Did the Gene Haas Foundation support your team? 
7/9/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

Please send us at picture of your vehicle with their logo on it

Ansys, part of Synopsys! Foundational Fridays 
7/4/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

A webinar series focused on foundational simulation topics, helping students better understand how simulation tools are used to analyze, etc.

🚀 One Last Flight for 2026: Share Your SAE Aero Design Season Highlights & Win! 
6/25/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

✈️ SAE Aero Design East & West may be complete… but the season highlights are just getting started! 🚀

SAE Expert Insights: Storm or No Storm: Career Resilience 
6/19/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

Check out the presentation June 23rd 2:00PM ET

New University Programs Podcast Episode! 
6/15/2026  SAE Aero Design Series

From Formula SAE to Industry with Oshkosh and Pratt Miller Engineers

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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!