Stevens SAE Aero Design

We are a student team at Stevens building a Micro Class aircraft for the SAE Aero Design competition.

Founded 2026Hoboken, NJStevens Institute of Technology

Stevens SAE Aero Design is a student team in its founding year. We are targeting the 2027 Micro Class East competition.

Get involved

Looking for people to join the team!

More about the program

Upcoming events and meetings

TBA. The semester schedule will be posted here.

The competition

SAE Aero Design, Micro Class

An international collegiate competition. Teams design a radio-controlled aircraft to a strict rule set, then explain the process behind it in front of a panel of judges.

Technical design report

A written report documenting the analysis and the decisions behind the aircraft.

Oral design presentation

The team defends its design in front of industry and academic engineers.

Payload flight rounds

Timed flights carrying payload, scored on lifting performance against the limits the rules set for the class.

Sub-teams

Who builds what

Four disciplines, one airframe. Members join a sub-team and own a piece of the aircraft from their first project.

See all four sub-teams

  • AerodynamicsLift, stability, and performance. Sizes the wing and predicts how the aircraft flies.
  • StructuresThe airframe itself. Load paths, materials, and a frame light enough to fly with payload in it.
  • ElectronicsPower, radio control, and avionics. The systems that keep the aircraft commandable in the air.
  • ManufacturingFabrication and assembly. Turning CAD into something we can put into the air.

Help us build and fly our first aircraft.