UC Irvine Giving Day

Who We Are 

Aero Design @ UC Irvine (formerly Cargo Plane @ UC Irvine) is a student-led collective of more than 40 undergraduates from interdisciplinary fields in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, materials and business. Each year, we design, build and flight-test an electric, remote-controlled cargo aircraft to compete at SAE Aero West. Guided by creativity, collaboration and a drive to push the boundaries of engineering, we tackle every stage of the design process top to bottom as a team. 

We strive to advance electric unmanned aviation by outperforming past prototypes in flight duration, structural efficiency and durability. Your support for our work plays a part in shaping the next generation of all-electric aviation, fueling the development of lighter, stronger structures and cleaner, more efficient propulsion systems.

Progress Report

Since our fall 2025 ZotFunder closed, Aero Design @ UC Irvine has been working diligently and rigorously to construct our aircraft. And we are almost done! While we have been able to purchase most of the materials needed, competition logistics are still outstanding – and expensive. To get us to competition plane tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, food and gas are just as important as the wood and wires that make up our plane.

We need your support this Giving Day to ensure our team is able to safely travel to the SAE west competition.

Furthermore, after competition is the annual transition phase as the new team is assembled. Any funds remaining after travel will be used to make sure the future members of our team have the resources and materials needed for another successful year!

Your Support So Far

In preparation for the upcoming 2025-26 SAE Aero Design West Competition, Aero Design raised $4,500 in the fall 2025 quarter. This includes $3,000 from our fall 2025 ZotFunder and $1,500 in monetary donations coming in from our sponsors, HAAS and GoEngineer.

Aero Design has since used these funds to purchase materials for the plane build, enrolled in the SAE competition for both the micro and regular class and held additional fundraising events on campus.

Here is a more detailed look into the materials purchased so far this year: 

~$500 was used to purchase Structural Materials such as balsa and adhesive

~$300 was used to purchase Propulsion components

~$1,100 was used to purchase avionics components such as batteries and servos

~$125 went into purchasing general consumables such as linkages and structural components

$3,300 was paid to cover Aero Design @ UC Irvine’s SAE west competition fees (enrollment in both the regular class and micro class)

Your support has already made measurable progress possible! We hope you will consider contributing to our project this Giving Day and help get our team to competition. Thank you!