2026 Collegiate Design Series

SAE Aero Design Rules

Version 2026.0

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Forward

Welcome to SAE Aero Design 2026! This year marks the 40th anniversary of the SAE Aero Design competition and we are proud once again to challenge students with relevant aircraft design and engineering experiences this year. Technical competition and project management is a hallmark of the aerospace industry. Students are introduced to the concepts of design, manufacture, and mission performance through an industry-like series of competition events, which require technical documentation, test readiness presentation, and flight competition.

The 2026 competition introduces a new multi-engine cargo mission for the Regular Class.

Multi-engine cargo aircraft perform an important role and provide payload flexibility across industry. The Regular Class mission requirement creates decision points around both propulsion design and payload integration, type, and quantity. The power limiter is removed for this class and teams will balance takeoff performance (current draw) against mission endurance (battery capacity). After successful flights, teams are required to increase payload for the next flight attempt emphasizing vehicle optimization around multiple payload configurations.

The SAE Aero Design Rules Committee continues to be impressed with the ingenuity, teamwork, and dedication of the student teams. The experience the competition provides is tailored to be representative of real-world process with a focus on hardware and flight demonstration in addition to requirements deconstruction, preliminary design, and analysis. Working on a team to accomplish a difficult engineering challenge and learn by doing is a key element. Good luck to all teams undertaking this journey.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Competition Requirements ................................................................................................. 1

Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1

SAE Aero Design Rules and Organizer Authority .............................................................. 1

Penalties ................................................................................................................................... 1 Rules Authority......................................................................................................................... 1 Rules Validity ............................................................................................................................ 2 Rules Compliance ..................................................................................................................... 2 Understanding the Rules .......................................................................................................... 2 Loopholes ................................................................................................................................. 2 Participating in the Competition .............................................................................................. 2 Visa--United States Visas .......................................................................................................... 2 Letters of Invitation .................................................................................................................. 2 Certificates of Participation...................................................................................................... 3 Violations of Intent................................................................................................................... 3 Right to Impound ..................................................................................................................... 3 Flight Operations Procedure .................................................................................................... 3