Overview The Boeing Aeromodelling Competition 2026-27, in collaboration with IIT Gandhinagar and Boeing, is a national platform for students passionate about aerodynamics, innovation, and engineering. The competition challenges participants to design, build, and operate radio-controlled fixed-wing aircraft capable of performing complex tasks such as payload delivery and precision flying. Whether you are an aeromodelling beginner or an experienced designer, this competition provides an exciting opportunity to test your skills, creativity, and engineering expertise. Format of the Competition 1. Selection for the Zonal rounds will be based on the screening of the Design Abstract, its explanation, and the accompanying pictures (detailed in the subsequent paragraphs). a. IIT Gandhinagar b. IIT Kanpur c. IIT Madras d. KIIT Bhubaneswar 2. Participants can register with the team to participate only in the zones based on the location of their college/university. (See section on Zones for more details) 3. The participants will bring their aircraft and all necessary equipment to participate. 4. The top three teams from each zonal round will be invited to the national finals.
IIT Gandhinagar Zonal Round: This registration and participation are exclusively for the IIT Gandhinagar Zonal Round, which represents the following states: Goa Gujarat Maharashtra Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh
Team structure: 1.
Maximum Team Size: 4 2.
Minimum Team Size: 2 3. An additional mentor can accompany the team but will not be allowed to help them during their participation. 4. Team members may be from the same college/school or different (School/UG/PG). However, all the schools/ colleges should be within the same zone. (See section on Zones for more details) 5. Any number of teams can participate from one college/school. 6. Only students can participate in this competition. 7. Participants must get a bona fide certificate signed by the respective HoD/Dean/Principal and their school/college ID Card.
Qualifier Round Objective: Select the top 30 teams that demonstrate a lightweight aircraft capable of safe, controlled flight while carrying the prescribed 1,000 mL water payload.
Flight Duration: The aircraft must fly safely for at least 30 seconds with the full 1,000 mL payload. Water release is not required in this round.
Payload Rules: The water must be housed in a sealed, securely mounted, and removable interior reservoir. The reservoir and release mechanism count toward the aircraft’s empty weight.
Pre-Flight & Timing: Judges will inspect the reservoir, mounting, and release mechanism before takeoff. The reservoir exterior must be dry with zero visible leakage. The total flight window from takeoff to landing is strictly limited to 3 minutes. Qualifier Score = (Mass of Water Successfully Carried (g) / Empty Aircraft Weight (g) ) x 100
Venue
Indian Institute Of Technology, Gandhinagar
Gandhinagar, India
Disqualification and failure criteria: An aircraft that fails to maintain safe flight for at least 30 seconds with the 1,000 mL payload, or exhibits visible leakage before landing, will receive a score of zero for that attempt.
Advancement and attempts: Only teams whose aircraft safely complete the loaded flight in the Qualifier Round will be eligible to advance to the Main Round. Each team is allowed two attempts, and the higher score will stand as the team's official Qualifier Round score. The top 30 teams will qualify for the Main Round.
Financial Reimbursement: In addition to advancing, the top 30 qualifying teams will receive a material cost reimbursement of INR 5,000 per team. To facilitate this transfer, the qualifying team must provide the bank account details of one designated team member.
Main Round: The aircraft must carry 1000 mL of water in the inspected sealed, removable reservoir and release the water in flight over a clearly designated simulated fire/release zone. The aircraft must fly safely for at least 30 seconds after take-off before the pilot commands the water release. The pilot may initiate the release only while the aircraft is over the simulated fire/release zone (large area within the ground where the competition takes place). Judges will visually confirm that the commanded release begins within the marked zone; water does not need to be collected from the ground for scoring. The release mechanism must be operated by the pilot using only one transmitter channel. Automatic or programmed release is not allowed. Water successfully released will be determined by weighing the removable reservoir immediately before and after the attempt. Any visible leakage before the commanded release does not count; if judges cannot distinguish leakage from the commanded release, the water-release score for that attempt will be zero. The simulated fire/release zone will be marked on the ground and located approximately 40 m from the take-off and landing zone. Its exact position and dimensions may be adjusted by the organizers for the venue and wind conditions. Mai