Boeing, Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), and Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT)

present

National Aeromodelling Competition 2026-27

Zonal Round Problem Statement

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).
    1. IIT Gandhinagar
    2. IIT Kanpur
    3. IIT Madras
    4. 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.

Problem Statement for the Zonal Rounds

  • Teams (the composition of which is defined below) are responsible for designing and operating a radio-controlled aircraft. Further details on aircraft specifications are available in the Design Constraints section.
  • Aerial Firefighting Challenge: Wildfires threaten forests, wildlife, and communities. According to NASA, extreme wildfire activity more than doubled worldwide over a 21-year satellite record. The IPCC also reports a 19% increase in the mean global fire-weather season length between 1979 and 2013, noting that total burned area varies by regions or land types. [1][2]
  • The January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles County illustrate the scale of recent wildfire disasters. CAL FIRE records 23,448 acres burned, and 6,845 structures destroyed in the Palisades Fire, and 14,021 acres burned and 9,419 structures destroyed in the Eaton Fire. [3][4]
  • Mission: Design the lightest possible aircraft to safely carry a fixed 1000 mL water payload and, in the Main Round, release maximum water during flight over the simulated fire/release zone.
  • Organizers will supply and measure the water. The event will take place in an open-ground arena. There will be two rounds:

A. Qualifier Round: To select the top 30 teams for the Main Round

B. Main Round: To select the top 3 teams for Finals.

A. Qualifier Round

  • 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
  • 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.

B. Main Round

  • The aircraft must carry 1,000 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.
Main Round Score = Mass of Water Successfully Released (g) Empty Aircraft Weight (g) x 100
  • Each team will receive 2 attempts in the Main Round. The better score will be the team's Main Round score.
  • A maximum of 3 minutes is allowed between take-off and landing in each attempt. The aircraft must complete the release and land within this time limit.

Zonal Winners:

Final Score = (0.25 x Score in Qualifier Round) + (0.75 x Score in Main Round)
  1. Top 3 teams with the highest final score will be declared as winners of the Zonal.
  2. If there is a tie, the winner will be decided by a separate round framed by the Judges on the spot. Judges' decisions would be considered final in all cases.
  3. Winning Top 3 teams will be participating in the finals and the finals venue will be communicated after zonal rounds.
  4. The problem statement for the final round will be launched after completion of all the zonal rounds

Design Constraints:

Aircraft:

  1. The competition requires participants to design and fabricate a Fixed Wing RC aircraft. Readymade models like RTF, ARF, BNF etc., are not allowed.
  2. T/W <=1.5 without payload (If excess thrust is measured, it will be neutralized by adding weight below the aircraft at the center of gravity)
  3. The propeller diameter should not be greater than 13 inches.
  4. The wingspan should be a maximum of 1 m.
  5. Only electric motors are allowed. Using IC engines or any other means of providing thrust is prohibited.
  6. Use of gyroscopes (gyros) and programming assistance in receivers is prohibited.
  7. Programming for any step of the mission is not allowed.
  8. Use of FPV or any other support for flying is not allowed.

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.
Safety Pilot Intervention: A ground-based safety pilot, provided by the organizers, may be available to assume control of the aircraft during an emergency. Participants may opt to fly independently or request the safety pilot's intervention. However, if the safety pilot deems a participant's flight control insufficient to ensure safety, they reserve the right to immediately take control of the aircraft. All final decisions rest jointly with the safety pilot and judges, and participants must strictly comply with their directives.

Zones:

Your team can participate only in the zones based on the location of your college/ school as defined below:

KIIT Bhubaneswar

  1. Arunachal Pradesh
  2. Assam
  3. Bihar
  4. Chhattisgarh
  5. Jharkhand
  6. Manipur
  7. Meghalaya
  8. Mizoram
  9. Nagaland
  10. Odisha
  11. Sikkim
  12. Telangana
  13. Tripura
  14. West Bengal

IIT Kanpur

  1. Delhi
  2. Haryana
  3. Himachal Pradesh
  4. Jammu & Kashmir
  5. Ladakh
  6. Punjab
  7. Uttar Pradesh
  8. Uttarakhand

IIT Gandhinagar

  1. Goa
  2. Gujarat
  3. Maharashtra
  4. Rajasthan
  5. Madhya Pradesh

IIT Madras

  1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  2. Andhra Pradesh
  3. Karnataka
  4. Kerala
  5. Lakshadweep
  6. Tamil Nadu

Abstract Submission to Qualify for Zonals:

  1. All participants must submit an abstract of their aircraft in A4 size with 1.5 line spacing and standard formatting, totaling no more than 15 pages. They must also submit a zip file containing at least 5 and no more than 10 photographs of the aircraft during its construction.
  2. The abstract must document the basic aircraft design (including dimensions, wing area and estimated flight speed) and explain the reservoir, mounting, release mechanism, leakage prevention, centre-of-gravity management and safe operation for the Aerial Firefighting Challenge.
  3. Download the standard format from the respective IIT websites.
  4. The abstract must be submitted at least 20 days in advance of the competition date.
  5. The abstract must be submitted according to the specified format by sending an email to: <insert corresponding email ID for each zonal>.
  6. The shortlist of teams based on the abstract, eligible to participate in the zonal rounds, will be announced 15 days before the competition date.

If multiple teams are participating from the same school or college, each team's aircraft design must be distinct. There should be a minimum 2.5% difference in the dimensions of the following: wingspan, chord, and fuselage length. Any teams from the same institution found in violation of this clause will be disqualified.

General Guidelines

  1. Aircraft Continuity and Repairs: The same aircraft must be used across all rounds and must strictly match the design submitted in the abstract. In the event of damage during the competition, teams are permitted to repair the aircraft but may not utilize a replacement model. The repaired aircraft must be fully operational and ready in time for the team's next scheduled slot. Teams are strongly advised to carry spare components (such as motors, batteries, and propellers) to avoid unforeseen technical delays at the venue. Failure to be ready when called will result in a forfeited attempt or lost flight time.
  2. The use of 2.4 GHz radio is required for all aircraft competing. If the participants want to use any other frequency, they must inform the organizers in advance.
  3. Receivers installed in the aircraft must be in 'receiver mode only'.
  4. Metal propellers are not allowed.
  5. Organizers will check all the systems (Servos, motors, etc.) for functionality before the competition. If found not working, teams will be dismissed from the competition.
  6. Please do not share parts of your aircraft (motors, ESC, Battery etc.) with other teams. Each team is expected to carry all the equipment needed to participate in the competition.
  7. The models can have powered take-off with landing gear or be launched manually by a person standing at ground level.
  8. A team member cannot be a part of more than one team.
  9. The timer will start after 120 seconds of the previous team completing their attempt. The participants must be prepared in time and launch without delay after entering the take-off zone. The teams would lose their turn if they were not ready in time.
  10. To be eligible for the reimbursement, the qualifying team must share the bank account details that belong to one of the team members. The name on the bank account must match the registered participant's name. Reimbursement/ Prize money will not be transferred if there is a mismatch.
  11. In view of stringent safety requirements, if a pilot flies out of the designated flying zone, which includes the overhead of the event organizing and control section, as mentioned at the venue, he/ she is disqualified. He/she must immediately turn back and land safely.
  12. The arena and the locations of the take-off, landing and simulated fire/release zones may vary based on the actual ground and wind conditions.
  13. Participation in multiple zonal events and finals
    1. Teams can participate in only one zonal event.
    2. The same team members participating in the zonal should participate in the final.
    3. Any attempts to unfairly influence the scoring or disrupt the competition by teams or individuals associated with them, such as parents, professors, trainers, etc., will result in immediate disqualification of the teams.

Revisions

Any revisions to the competition scope will be communicated to all participants via registered email and updated on the websites of the respective technical festivals.

Sources

  1. [1] NASA Science, Wildfires and Climate Change: https://science.nasa.gov/earth/explore/wildfires-and-climate-change/
  2. [2] IPCC, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis, Chapter 11: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/chapter/chapter-11/
  3. [3] CAL FIRE, Palisades Fire: https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/1/7/palisades-fire
  4. [4] CAL FIRE, Eaton Fire: https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/1/7/eaton-fire