This marks one of the greatest achievements in WUT’s 30-year history of participation in the competition. The results stem from months of intensive teamwork, innovative engineering solutions, and the consistent development of technical expertise.

Innovation and Autonomy – Dominance in the Advanced Class

In the Advanced Class, WUT students clinched 1^st place overall and 1^st place in mission performance. The challenge required teams to design, build, and test an aircraft capable of autonomously transporting and delivering a payload to a designated zone while minimizing structural weight.

The WUT team developed the competition’s only fully autonomous cargo system, featuring self-propelled units that docked with the aircraft. Their airframe design was equally groundbreaking—the first in the competition’s history to utilize vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) with seamless transition to horizontal flight. Through meticulous material selection, the aircraft achieved the lowest structural weight among all entries.

Lightweight Design and Precision: Triumph in the Micro Class

In the Micro Class, focused on lightweight, foldable designs, WUT secured 3^rd place overall and 2^nd place in mission performance. Teams were tasked with carrying the maximum payload (water) under strict wingspan and weight constraints, while achieving the shortest take-off distance.

The team opted for an unconventional biplane configuration, enabling a record-breaking take-off distance of just 10 feet while transporting nearly 2 kg of water. WUT was also the sole team to employ thermoforming technology for tank production, ensuring durability with minimal mass.

Voices from the Team

“Building such an aircraft is a monumental challenge,” said Barnaba Dąbrowa, President of the SAE AeroDesign Group. “It demands technical expertise, hands-on skills, language proficiency, and—above all—teamwork. This experience complements our academic program and elevates the practical quality of our education. We learn more here than in many lecture halls.”

At the competition in the United States, the team included:

Barnaba Dąbrowa – Group President, Michał Segień – Vice President, Micro Class Pilot, Paweł Prusaczyk, Bartosz Zięzio, Paweł Sadowski – Advanced Class Coordinators, Piotr Godlewski – Electronics Specialist, Advanced Class Pilot, Mateusz Markiewicz, Denys Bashevets – Micro Class Coordinators, Bartosz Żelazko – Micro Class Electronics Specialist, Maja Szymańska, Filip Kucharski – Micro Class Team Members.

SAE Aero Design – A Prestigious Engineering Competition

Organized by SAE International, SAE Aero Design is a prestigious annual competition where student teams design, build, and test remote-controlled aircraft to complete specific missions. Categories—Regular, Advanced, and Micro—each demand unique engineering approaches.