SAE Aero Team: SAE Aero Design 2026 West Competition (Fort Worth, TX)

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is a professional organization that hosts student design competitions. This year, the SAE Aero Team competed at the SAE Aero Design 2026 West Competition, held in Fort Worth, TX, from April 17th to April 19th. For the first in over seven years, the team was able to complete multiple successful test flights prior to the competition, overcoming windy and snowy conditions. The team has competed in the Micro-Class, where we were tasked to build a Radio-Controlled (RC) plane under multiple constraints, capable of carrying 67 fl oz (2 Liters) of liquid water. At this event, we're competing against 27 teams from several states and countries, and we are based on our technical report, our flight readiness review presentation, and our mission (flights). To score well in the mission section, Micro Class RC Aero planes must take off quickly, carry as much liquid water payload as possible, and minimize both wingspan and plane weight. Union College's 2026 plane built on past innovations and optimizations to improve performance and reliability. We greatly improved our design, analytical capacity, and testing ability for future planes.
<p>Additional Co-Authors: Aaron Al-Marayati, Ella Boeckmann, Zev Rafael Deladingco, Strahlia Durr, Dang Hung Duy, Toby Gleason-Kaiser, Alldyn Gotora, Alec Hallinan, Weiheng He, Michael McShane, Nolan Mottor, Juan Adriel Ortiz, Brooke Rosenshine, Leza Sorn