Engineering Team Defies Storm, Earns Top 10 National Finish

Cedarville University engineering students place ninth in SAE Aero Design East mission results 

Against gathering storm clouds and mounting pressure, a team of Cedarville University engineering students made a split-second decision that defined its competition and proved its engineering skills on a national stage. 

At the 2026 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Aero Design East competition, held March 6-8 in Lakeland, Florida, Cedarville students competed against 30 university teams in the regular class and earned a ninth-place finish for mission results. Top competitors included the University of Cincinnati, the University of Michigan and Purdue University. 

The annual SAE Aero Design East competition is an internationally recognized aerospace engineering challenge that requires student teams to design, build and fly radio-controlled aircraft capable of carrying maximum payloads under strict conditions. 

SAE Aero Design competition challenged teams to maximize aircraft payload 

This year’s objective was straightforward but demanding: to carry as much payload as possible. What happened next was anything but predictable. 

During earlier testing, Cedarville’s aircraft had successfully lifted up to 11 pounds, though results were inconsistent in meeting the required 100-foot takeoff distance. A 14-pound payload was not considered realistic.  

“Going into the competition, we had no idea 14 pounds was even realistic for our airplane,” said Ethan Freeman, a senior mechanical engineering student and team lead. “We’d already pushed through a last-minute redesign and were just hoping to fly consistently and represent our team well.”  

Cedarville team takes engineering risk during final flight attempt 

Then came competition day. 

The team successfully lifted six pounds, then seven, then eight — before ultimately reaching 11 pounds. 

With time for one flight remaining, the team faced a pivotal choice: to play it safe or push beyond what it believed was possible. 

The team chose to push. 

Storm conditions in Lakeland created a defining moment for Cedarville’s aircraft 

At the same time, conditions in Lakeland began to shift. Dark clouds rolled in. Winds intensified. Rain threatened the airfield. Around them, teams grounded their aircraft, unwilling to risk failure in worsening weather. But Cedarville’s team made a different call. 

“We saw that the headwind was helping our takeoff,” Freeman said, “so we made the call to push it and load 14 pounds.” 

In heavy winds and approaching rain, the nearly 20-pound aircraft accelerated down the runway, carrying a payload almost equal to its own weight, and lifted off within the required 100-foot mark.  

“To be standing on the flight line in heavy wind, watching our 20-pound aircraft lift 14 pounds of payload and still get off the ground in under 100 feet, that was surreal,” said Freeman. “It felt like all the late nights, all the redesigns and all the testing had paid off in one moment and proved that our engineering actually works in the real world.” 

Top 10 national finish validates Cedarville students’ engineering decisions 

That liftoff moment validated months of high-pressure engineering decisions. 

“That was the moment it clicked for us as engineers,” said Freeman. “We’d rushed through a redesign, made some bold judgment calls and hoped we hadn’t missed anything. Seeing the plane leave the ground didn’t just score us points, it proved that the engineering decisions we made under pressure were sound. It was the first time we could step back and say, ‘We actually know what we’re doing.’” 

The result was a top 10 national finish for mission results and a breakthrough moment for a team preparing to enter the engineering workforce. 

Cedarville University engineering team members represented multiple states