FLYING HIGH AT SAE AERO DESIGN

New for the twin 2017 competitions in Texas and Florida was a requirement for planes registered in the Regular Class to carry “passengers.”

TWO SAE AERO DESIGN competitions are held each spring, bringing together student engineers in a competition to present the best aircraft design and compete in static and dynamic events to prove their superiority. The 2017 SAE Aero Design West competition was held in Fort Worth, Texas on March 10-12. Aero Design East was held in Lakeland, Fla., on April 21-23. The total number of participants from both events was about 1,200 students and 250 volunteers.

SAE Aero Design East overall winners were Warsaw University of Technology (Poland) in Regular Class, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (China) in Advanced Class, and Anadolu Universitesi (Turkey) in the Micro Class. Georgia University of Technology has been dominant over the past several years, and at the 2017 SAE Aero Design West competition placed first in the Advanced and Micro Classes. Clinching the top spot in this year's Regular Class at SAE Aero Design East was another perennial power, the University of Cincinnati.