We provide the Experience; You supply the Knowledge.

Backed by industry and academia, the mission of SAE Aero Design is to provide students with real-world engineering experience through aircraft design challenges. Competition rules were designed to compress a typical aircraft development program into one calendar year, following the early development phase of system engineering and requirements derivation. The Aero Design competition will expose participants to the nuances of conceptual design, manufacturing, system integration/testing, and verification through demonstration.

SAE Aero Design features three classes of competition - Regular, Advanced and Micro.

Written Design Report Judges

Judges will virtually review and score assigned written design reports prior to the onsite competitions. If you would like to be a written report judge for either SAE Aero Design East or West, please complete the survey link below AND sign up as a volunteer for the desired corresponding competition. The survey will help us better assign design reports for judging.

TAKE THE REPORT JUDGE SURVEY

Aero Design East - Florida

EAST VOLUNTEERS - SIGN UP TODAY!

Virtual Volunteering:

  1. Written Report Judge: Judges will review and score assigned teams' 30 page written design reports. Each judge will receive 3-4 design reports to assess based on a given rubric. Reports to be distributed around Feb 5 with judging to be completed at your own pace prior to March 3.

  2. Technical Presentation Judge: Presentation judges will assess oral presentations of student teams (via Microsoft Teams) and enter scoring into an online scoring portal. The score shall be comprised of scores from each judge based on the judges’ evaluation of the technical content and the team’s readiness to compete. Training is provided, although a technical background in the industry is preferred. Presentations will be held virtually on Fri, February 20 and Fri, February 27.

    In-Person Volunteering:

  3. Onsite Volunteer: March 6 - 8, 2026

    Onsite Event Location:
    Paradise Field
    3875 W Pipkin Rd
    Lakeland, FL 33811

Aero Design West - Texas

WEST VOLUNTEERS - SIGN UP TODAY!

Virtual Volunteering:

  1. Written Report Judge: Judges will review and score assigned teams' 30 page written design reports. Each judge will receive 3-4 design reports to assess based on a given rubric. Reports to be distributed around March 11 with judging to be completed at your own pace prior to April 7.

  2. Technical Presentation Judge: Presentation judges will assess oral presentations of student teams (via Microsoft Teams) and enter scoring into an online scoring portal. The score shall be comprised of scores from each judge based on the judges’ evaluation of the technical content and the team’s readiness to compete. Training is provided, although a technical background in the industry is preferred. Presentations will be held virtually on Fri, April 3 and Fri, April 10.

In-Person Volunteering:

  1. Onsite Volunteer: April 17 - 19, 2026

    Onsite Event Location:
    Thunderbird Field
    4300 Winscott Plover Rd
    Fort Worth, TX 76126

Code of Conduct

All SAE Volunteers are expected to uphold the highest standards for professional conduct while volunteering for an SAE Program. Volunteers must treat all participants with courtesy, respect, and dignity. Volunteers are responsible for modeling professional conduct and for cultivating a respectful and inclusive program.

To foster a just and safe community unprofessional behavior, including that which is intimidating, threatening, violent, inappropriate, illegal, or dishonest, will be addressed by promoting accountability and following up with any actions necessary. Unprofessional behavior may result in the removal of volunteers from the program indefinitely.