Aerial Robotics 2027 Competition PART Aircraft Challengers

HELP US FLY FURTHER.

Since 1996, Purdue Aerial Robotics Team has challenged students to do something difficult: design, build, test, and fly complete unmanned aircraft.

Each school year, our members take a new aircraft from early concepts to finished hardware. We design the airframe, manufacture structures, integrate propulsion and electronics, develop autonomous systems, test the aircraft, and solve the problems that only appear when a design becomes real.

Competition has always been a major part of that process. Over the years, Purdue Aerial Robotics has competed in a variety of collegiate aerial robotics competitions that challenge our students to turn ambitious designs into reliable aircraft.

This year, that work is focused on the RoboNation Student Unmanned Aerial Systems Competition. Throughout the school year, we are designing, manufacturing, and testing a new aircraft from the ground up before taking it to competition this summer.

Your donations will directly fund the carbon fiber, composite materials, tooling, equipment, and hardware needed to manufacture and test the aircraft. These resources put advanced materials and manufacturing equipment directly into the hands of students and allow them to build parts that have to perform on a real aircraft.

Advanced composite manufacturing has been part of Purdue Aerial Robotics for decades. Generations of members have designed and manufactured carbon fiber aircraft structures, passing techniques, tooling, and hard-earned knowledge from one team to the next. That has allowed our students to develop a level of practical composites experience that is difficult to find in the classroom.

That experience has real value after Purdue. Our students are frequently hired specifically for the composites knowledge and manufacturing experience they develop on the team. Every aircraft we build gives another generation the opportunity to develop those skills while continuing to advance what the team is capable of manufacturing.

Your donations will directly support 175 future engineers as they design, manufacture, test, and fly Purdue's next competition aircraft.

The impact lasts well beyond a single competition season. Materials become aircraft, new tooling expands what future teams can build, and equipment purchased today can continue teaching students for years.

Our members learn by doing. They make design decisions, manufacture real parts, troubleshoot failures, work across engineering disciplines, and take responsibility for whether the finished aircraft succeeds. They leave the team having worked through the consequences of real engineering decisions on a real system.

The results can be seen in our alumni. Purdue Aerial Robotics members have gone on to careers at Lockheed Martin, Boeing, SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, Tesla, Saab, Firefly Aerospace, and many other engineering and aerospace companies.

For nearly 30 years, Purdue Aerial Robotics has used ambitious aircraft projects to develop capable, hands-on engineers. With your support, we can continue giving Purdue students the resources and experience to do that work for years to come.