IARE | SAE INTERNATIONAL AERO DESIGN

SAE International Aero Design Challenge - 2025

The Society of Automotive Engineers hosts aero design competitions at both national and international levels. The competition consists of three distinct classes: Advanced, Regular, and Micro. This year, IARE Lakshya Micro participated in the SAE Aero Design West 2025 Micro Class, which took place from April 4 to April 8, 2025, in Van Nuys, California, headed by Dr. BDY Sunil, under the guidance of Dr. Rathan Babu Athota as the technical advisor. The goal of the SAE Aero Design West 2025 competition is to provide undergraduate and graduate engineering students with a realistic design challenge. Industry professionals have developed these regulations with a focus on educational value and practical experience. The rules are structured to simulate a typical aircraft development program over the course of a year, mirroring the initial stages of system engineering and requirements development. This competition will provide participants with insight into conceptual design, manufacturing, system integration and testing, and verification through practical demonstrations.

Design Requirements:

Mission Requirements:

About The UAV:

The UAV designed for the SAE Aero Design West 2025 competition is a micro-class model tailored to operate within specified constraints. The design mandates a fixed-wing configuration with a maximum take-off weight under 55 lbs, using an electric propulsion system powered by a 4-cell Li-Po battery and capped at 450 watts through an SAE V4 power limiter. The mission profile is set to 1 minute, requiring the UAV to take off, achieve flight, and land with its payload within this timeframe. The aircraft’s take-off and landing distance requirements are limited to 100 ft and 200 ft, respectively, while the payload discharge must be completed within 60 seconds after take-off. These requirements emphasize the need for a lightweight, highly efficient, and stable design to ensure compliance with power, weight, and distance restrictions.

One of the key challenges for this UAV lies in achieving optimal take-off performance despite its small wingspan, which can impact lift and increase the difficulty of maintaining take-off distances between 0 and 50 ft. This is compounded by the single-motor setup and the strict 450-watt power limit, which restricts the UAV’s power output. To address these challenges, the team has focused on optimizing the UAV’s aerodynamic efficiency and carefully selecting components, including a high-efficiency motor and propeller configuration that maximizes thrust within the power constraints. The resulting design balances compactness and power, aiming to meet the mission objectives and ensure smooth, controlled flight and landing under competitive constraints.

Team IARE LAKSHYA Micro:

The Team IARE LAKSHYA Micro achieved an overall ranking of 8th at the SAE Aero Design West event, held in Van Nuys, California, USA, 2025.

SAE International Aero Design Challenge - 2024

The Society of Automotive Engineers hosts aero design competitions at both national and international levels. The competition consists of three distinct classes: advanced, regular, and micro. This year, IARE Lakshya participated in the SAE Aero Design East 2024 Micro Class, which took place from March 8 to March 11, 2024, in Lakeland, Florida, headed by Dr. Govardhan Dussa, under the guidance of Dr. Rathan Babu Athota as the technical advisor. The goal of the SAE Aero Design East 2024 competition is to provide undergraduate and graduate engineering students with a realistic design challenge. Industry professionals have developed these regulations with a focus on educational value and practical experience. The rules are structured to simulate a typical aircraft development program over the course of a year, mirroring the initial stages of system engineering and requirements development. This competition will provide participants with insight into conceptual design, manufacturing, system integration and testing, and verification through practical demonstrations.

Design Requirements:

Mission Requirements:

About The UAV:

The UAV designed for the SAE Aero Design East 2024 competition is a micro-class model tailored to operate within specified constraints. The design mandates a fixed-wing configuration with a maximum take-off weight under 55 lbs, using an electric propulsion system powered by a 4-cell Li-Po battery and capped at 450 watts through an SAE V4 power limiter. The mission profile is set to 1 minute, requiring the UAV to take off, achieve flight, and land with its payload within this timeframe. The aircraft’s take-off and landing distance requirements are limited to 100 ft and 200 ft, respectively, while the payload discharge must be completed within 60 seconds after take-off. These requirements emphasize the need for a lightweight, highly efficient, and stable design to ensure compliance with power, weight, and distance restrictions.

One of the key challenges for this UAV lies in achieving optimal take-off performance despite its small wingspan, which can impact lift and increase the difficulty of maintaining take-off distances between 0 and 50 ft. This is compounded by the single-motor setup and the strict 450-watt power limit, which restricts the UAV’s power output. To address these challenges, the team has focused on optimizing the UAV’s aerodynamic efficiency and carefully selecting components, including a high-efficiency motor and propeller configuration that maximizes thrust within the power constraints. The resulting design balances compactness and power, aiming to meet the mission objectives and ensure smooth, controlled flight and landing under competitive constraints.

Team IARE LAKSHYA:

The team IARE Lakshya achieved an overall ranking of 11^th at the SAE Aero Design East 2024 event, which took place in Lakeland, Florida, USA.

SAE International Aero Design Challenge - 2023

The Society of Automotive Engineers organises aero design challenges on international and national levels. There are three different classes in the competition: the advanced class, the regular class, and the micro class. This year, IARE Lakshya has participated in the SAE Aero Design East 2023 Regular Class, which was held from 10-03-23 to 13-03-23 in Lakeland, Florida, headed by Dr. Govardhan Dussa as technical advisor and Mr. Rathan Babu Athota as faculty coordinator. The SAE Aero Design East 2023 competition aims to offer undergraduate and graduate engineering students a real-world design challenge. These regulations have been developed by industry professionals with an emphasis on educational value and practical experience. These rules were designed to break down a typical aircraft development programme into a calendar year, following the early development stage of system engineering and requirements derivation. This competition will expose participants to the nuances of conceptual design, manufacturing, system integration/test, and verification through demonstration.

Regular Class:

The UAV should be subject to the constraints specified by SAE Aero Design East 2023. The goal of Regular Class is to create a plane with a wingspan that is as large as feasible and can lift as much weight as possible within the given constraints. Accurately predicting the lifting capacity of the aircraft is an important part of the aircraft design.

Design Requirements:

Mission Requirements:

The aircraft's large wingspan makes it difficult to maintain its structural integrity. It can be challenging to construct an aircraft with a wingspan ranging from 120 - 216 inches, a single motor with a power limiter, and a restriction on using a 6S battery.

Team IARE LAKSHYA:

The team IARE LAKSHYA, secured 17th position in regular class in overall standing of the SAE International ADC (East & West) 2023.

SAE International Aero Design Challenge - 2022

Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), organizes Aero Design Challenge (ADC) on international level in three classes namely advanced class, regular class and the micro class. The competition is a platform for both undergraduate and graduate students to get hand on practical experiences for designing and developing aircrafts to counter real problems, concerning which the design requirements are imposed by the SAE ADC committee, composed of people from the aeronautical industry. This year, had two teams registered from IARE headed by Dr. Govardhan Dussa as technical advisor, Dr. Aravind Rajan Ayagara and Mr. Rathan Babu Athota as faculty coordinators for advanced class (IARE ASTRA) and micro class (IARE LAKSHYA) in the SAE ADC East 2022 respectively. The competition was held at Fort Worth, Texas USA between 20 -22 May 2022.

The team IARE ASTRA, secured 16^th position in advanced class and the team IARE LAKSHYA at 11th position in micro class in overall standing of the SAE International ADC (East & West) 2022.

Advanced Class:

The mission profile for the advanced class was to counter wildlife fires that had occurred and caused huge ecological and economic damage recently. The mission intends to fly a Primary Aircraft (PA), which holds a small powered autonomous delivery aircraft (PADA). The PADA will host components for a Ground Transport Vehicle (GTV), which shall be assembled on ground. The PA designed here is capable to operating three to five flight rounds to have all the necessary GTV components. Hence, semi elliptical with morphing winglets for effective flying of the PA and a light weight PADA with GTV components. So that the structure of the PADA should be strong as well as light in weight.

Team IARE ASTRA:

Micro Class:

The mission profile for micro class deals with delivery in an urban environment. The team is given with a set of design constraints such as the total weight of the aircraft, the dimensions of the delivery payload boxes and the payload weight. The team IARE LAKSHYA, had chosen a design that resembles a flat bottom flying wing with payload loaded in the wings, and the leading-edge covers made of acrylic.

Team IARE LAKSHYA

SAE INTERNATIONAL AERO DESIGN - 2020

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.

Team IARE ASTRA is participating in this competition SAE International Aero Design Challenge East - 2020 at Lakeland State, Florida, USA, during the period of 6 March To 8 March 2020.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 View more

TEAM IARE ASTRA || PROMO || SAE AERO DESIGN TEAM || SAE International Aero Design Challenge East 2020 - I	TEAM IARE ASTRA || PROMO || SAE AERO DESIGN TEAM || SAE International Aero Design Challenge East 2020 - II

SAE INTERNATIONAL AERO DESIGN CHALLENGE EAST – 2020, Lakeland Florida.USA

SAE INTERNATIONAL AERO DESIGN - 2019

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.

Team IARE ASTRA is participating in this competition at TEXAS, USA during 8th March 2019 to 11th March 2019 to achieve an international aeromodelling recognition.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 View more

Life is full of challenges and opportunities, but only for those who actually struggle to grab the opportunities and overcome the challenges. SAE EAST International is one where the students have got a chance to showcase their talents and skills. Hard work and dedication are the only hymn in the journey to success. Without being passionate and the willingness to work hard, no one can achieve success. Competition is necessary in every field. Competition is the one which make us improve or grow faster. By comparing our ability with other we can easily find our level.

The competition was categorised into three classes, the regular, micro and the advanced class unmanned aircraft vehicles(UAVs). The journey begun with the concept of innovations to build UAVs of advanced class for the mars mission. The team was formed in the month of October, 2018 with students of different thought process. With an effort of individual work, the team work went on for making the design report, model fabrication and testing and finally the technical presentation in a sequence with the best outcomes and guidelines. The team’s set up was very professional, the take-off was, even the team faced The aircraft headed down range to the target. It turned around, flew back to The Base and performed an awestruck landing. And that was it! A successful, very short modified mars mission.

Team IARE ASTRA developed a Blended Body aircraft that generates high lift to the aircraft and a bi-wing that was added an advantage in payload carriage and dropping. The twin tail with a dorsal fin was used that increased the directional stability for the aircraft. On the whole the aircraft showed high stability during flight and completed its mission in payload carriage and dropping at the desired target.

Various teams out of 85 teams representing the Team IARE have participated in advanced category with awestruck innovations with the different design for the competition.
The Golden Words by SAE Delegates:

“Team #236 had an awesome first flight. Everyone at Fort Worth Thunderbird RC group is so proud of the team. Stay with it. As a failure brings out great success”
                                                                              -Mike Schroeder
“Congratulations, Awesome aircraft, very original. Well done”
                                                    -Tom Blakeny, Event Director, SAE Aero Design East 2019
“Awesome airplane I loved the way it flew and you guys are amazing engineers. I look forward to fly with you guys next year.”
                                                 -Grant, Flyer

These words made the team to stand out  with glee, thereby succeed in their thought process.

SAE INTERNATIONAL AERO DESIGN CHALLENGE EAST – 2019, Fort worth Texas.USA

Behind every successful thing stands people with encouraging thoughts and minds the
Faculty advisors from IARE the Head of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Dr.Dgovardhan, Mr. GSD.Madhav and Ms. Y Shwetha was an asset to the entire team. Twelve students in total from IVyear Sai Vinay, Aishwarya, Naveen, Sushma, Dedeepya, Arathi, Pradyumna Reddy, Rachel, Durgesh, Charan and a III year student  Sravan Kumar have created a wonderful platform for themselves .A ton full of happiness was personified among all the students who have participated with the amazing platform that was organized by the SAE EAST INTERNATIONAL 2019.