The Competition

Explore what the final competition in 2024 will look like and download further information

Race Disciplines

  • The races are the heart of the competition. Multiple pilots try to complete a timed lap around three different circuits while pushing their flying machines to the limit. During each of those three races, a maximum of 25 Points can be earned.

  • During the Shakedown event, the teams must demonstrate the aircrafts maximum flying capabilities in a simulated hover. A maximum of 25 Points can be awarded during this event.

  • Safety is the highest priority in the aviation industry as well as in our competition. Each team documents their vehicles safety in a report which is graded by industry experts.

  • Design and Engineering maturity evaluates the teams skill to deliver a proper product. Proper design, engineering and professionalism is able gain the teams up to 25 Points.

  • Boldness to try out new things and bring potential improvements to the aviation industry should be rewarded.

  • The competition features an autonomous race, in which students can test their own drone technologies and algorithms to find the fastest path through the track. This category is only optional with a special prize awarded for this discipline.

Throughout the duration of the competition, teams can earn a maximum of 180 Points.

Points are awarded for different disciplines and are summed up to choose the winner.

The organizer, Student AirRace, has carefully established a set of rules that teams must adhere to. These rules serve as the guidelines for competitors to participate in the competition.

They are divided into two parts: the sporting regulations, which outline disciplines, scoring, and more, and the technical regulations, which cover the size, configuration, and components of the Hyperdrones.

Sporting Regulations

Competitors collect point across multiple disciplines. The races are hosted as hotlap races where each team must set their best time within a certain time window.

Teams may only consist of active students from universities or comparable institutes. Only one team per university is permitted to enter the competition.

We are a very international and multicultural competition. Everybody is highly welcome to join and participate.

 

Technical Regulations

 

All UAVs must follow a set of technical regulations which is published by the organizer Student AirRace. This set of rules ensures an even playing field and safe competition. We call drones that follow these regulations “Hyper class”.

The UAVs are not allowed to exceed an MTOW (Maximum Take Off Weight) of 25kg. The maximum lateral dimensions are defined as 3.00m x 3.00m and a maximum vertical height of 1.00m. Propeller diameter is limited to a maximum of 1.20m.

Motors’ angles must be fixed in relation to the vehicle and cannot be tilted. The use of aero devices and lift-generating surfaces and wings is limited. This is done in order to prevent lift + cruise configurations which require a lot of development and are difficult to get right.

 
 

Deliverables

  • Phase 1: Registration

    The registration is open until Q4 2023 for any student team from universities around the world. Start your own project at your university, build your team and take part in the competition!

  • Phase 2: Preliminary Design Review

    We will need to verify your concept. To do this we will demand documents from you which need to be finished by Q1 2024. We do this to make sure you’re on the right track to compete and have the engineering maturity to be a proper contender.

  • Phase 3: Competition

    If you have what it takes to compete then this is finally showtime. Take part in the final competition which will last one weekend in August or September 2024. And show what you have been working on!

Convinced? Then get started!

Do you have further questions?
We’d love to answer them!

info@student-airrace.com

Student AirRace
Lehrstuhl für Hubschraubertechnologie
Boltzmannstraße 15
Garching bei München, 85748