Concordia student teams fly high at the 2025 SAE Aero Design East competition
Concordia SAE is a student-run chapter of the SAE Aero Design program, part of SAE International, a global aerospace engineering organization. This year, Concordia’s SAE Aero Design teams earned strong results at the 2025 SAE Aero Design East competition in Fort Worth, Texas, where they competed with radio-controlled aircraft they had designed, built and tested themselves.
The Advanced team placed second in their class, while the Regular Class team came in fourth. Jeremy Lampron, captain of the Regular Class team, shares his memories of the experience.
'Every challenge became a learning opportunity'
Captaining the 2025 Concordia SAE Aero Design Regular class team has been one of the most rewarding and intense experiences of my academic journey. Over the past year, our team dedicated countless hours to the design, testing and construction of a radio-controlled aircraft tailored for the rigorous demands of the SAE Aero Design competition.
The competition took place from May 2 to May 4 in Fort Worth, Texas. After a full year of effort, we proudly secured fourth place out of 37 teams from around the world.
The Advanced class team also made a remarkable achievement, landing in second place. Team captain Alaa Elshokri deserves congratulations for the exemplary leadership and commitment she showed throughout the last year.
Our team’s journey began with a simple but ambitious goal: to improve our aircraft’s performance in every possible way. We approached the design phase with a critical eye, applying lessons learned from previous years and exploring innovative ways to maximize how much weight the aircraft could carry. Countless design iterations, simulation runs and late-night discussions fueled our development process.
Testing was a particularly critical phase throughout the design. We conducted numerous ground and flight tests, scrutinizing every detail of the aircraft’s behaviour under various conditions. Every challenge — whether improving the structural integrity or optimizing the propulsion system — became a learning opportunity. But each setback, moment of doubt and unexpected failure pushed us to become more resourceful and resilient.
‘A team bound by mutual respect’
What stood out most in this experience was the unwavering commitment of every team member. The long nights in our design office, endless troubleshooting sessions and intense week in Texas built more than just an aircraft — they built a team bound by shared goals and mutual respect.
As captain, I had the privilege of guiding this talented group of individuals, fostering collaboration and ensuring we stayed focused and motivated. Achieving fourth place — and increasing the aircraft’s payload capacity by 58 per cent — was a proud moment. It validated the hard work, technical growth and strategic thinking we had invested throughout the process.
Efforts praised by competition organizers
This year has been an incredible chapter in Concordia SAE Aero Design’s history. We received high praise from the competition’s organizing engineers, who commended the aircraft’s thoughtful design and our team’s excellent operational execution.
Every milestone we reached was a result of collective effort, and our success was made possible by the dedication and passion each member brought to the table. I am incredibly proud of what we achieved together. And I am even more grateful for the friendships, trust and memories that we developed along the way.
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