AIAA’s Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and Aircraft Design Course Starts October 20
AIAA, in partnership with HySky Society, have designed the SAF and Aircraft Design Course. From 20 October–20 November 2026 (5 Weeks, 11 Classes, 22 Total Hours). All sessions recorded if you cannot attend live.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and HySky Society’s joint course, Advanced Sustainable Aviation Fuels and Aircraft Design, begins next week on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The live online course brings together six instructors whose experience spans fuel combustion, aircraft propulsion, electric aircraft design, airport operations and aviation sustainability.
From 20 October–20 November 2026 (5 Weeks, 11 Classes, 22 Total Hours)
Every Tuesday and Thursday at 1–3 p.m. ET USA (all sessions will be recorded and available for replay; course notes will be available for download)
11th class will take place Friday 20 November at 1–3 p.m. ET USA
In this new joint course from AIAA and HYSKY Society, the latest and greatest in Sustainable Aviation Fuels is presented, with a technical emphasis on Aircraft Design.
All students will receive an AIAA Certificate of Completion at the end of the course.
Running through November 20, the course includes 11 live, two-hour sessions, held from 12:00–2:00 p.m. Central Time. Participants will examine how fuel choices affect aircraft performance, engine operability, materials compatibility, infrastructure, certification, operating costs and climate impact.
The instructor team includes faculty from the University of Manchester, Washington State University Tri-Cities, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, The University of Alabama, University of California, Berkeley, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, including an instructor with more than 20 years of experience at GE Aviation.
Seats are limited, and aviation professionals are encouraged to register ahead of the October 20 opening session through the AIAA course registration page.
“Choosing a fuel changes much more than what goes into the tank. It changes aircraft design, propulsion, airport requirements and the economics of a mission,” said Danielle McLean, CEO and founder of HySky Society. “This course brings those decisions together. We want aviation professionals to leave with a stronger ability to evaluate the evidence, understand the trade-offs and make informed decisions about sustainable flight.”
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Training That Connects Fuel Chemistry With Aircraft Design
Advanced Sustainable Aviation Fuels and Aircraft Design treats sustainable aviation fuel as an integrated aircraft, propulsion, airport and supply-chain challenge. The curriculum connects fuel properties and combustion evidence with the engineering and operational decisions needed to use alternative energy sources effectively.
Participants will study sustainable aviation fuel alongside hydrogen, batteries and hybrid-electric propulsion. The course examines how these options influence aircraft sizing, payload-range performance, storage requirements, thermal management, infrastructure and technology risk.
That broader approach is relevant to companies developing fuels and aircraft, as well as organizations responsible for operating, maintaining, supplying or certifying aviation systems. A fuel’s suitability depends on its behavior throughout the system—from production and delivery to combustion, aircraft integration and life-cycle accounting.
The course combines technical foundations, experimental evidence, case studies, design tools and an applied fuel–aircraft–operations co-design project. Participants will work with methods for comparing alternatives across performance, economics, climate impact and development risk.
Meet the Faculty: Six Sustainable Aviation and Aircraft Design Instructors
The faculty brings complementary expertise across the major technical and operational subjects covered by the course:
Dr. Swapnil Jagtap — University of Manchester: Assistant Professor in Low Carbon Propulsion Systems and founding director of the FlyCLean Laboratory. His expertise includes low-carbon propulsion, hydrogen aircraft and model-based systems engineering. He will teach SAF combustion fundamentals and fuel-driven constraints in aircraft and propulsion system design.
Dr. Randall Boehm — Washington State University Tri-Cities: Associate Research Professor at BSEL, with more than 20 years of experience at GE Aviation. His background includes gas-turbine combustion, fuel-nozzle design and alternative fuels. His session addresses engine integration, operability, fuel efficiency and non-CO₂ impacts.
Dr. Matthew Clarke — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Assistant Professor and director of the Laboratory for Electric Aircraft Design and Sustainability. His work spans aeroacoustics, physics-AI and hybrid-electric propulsion. He will lead a regional aircraft case study comparing SAF and liquid-hydrogen propulsion concepts.
Dr. Bhupendra Khandelwal — The University of Alabama: Associate Professor and Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. His expertise includes propulsion, thermodynamics, SAF combustion, emissions and zero-emission technologies. His sessions cover fuel properties and materials, SAF supply chains, and the applied co-design project.
Dr. Jasenka Rakas — University of California, Berkeley: Senior Continuing Lecturer and deputy director of NEXTOR. Her expertise includes airport systems, airspace capacity, communications reliability and aviation operations research. She will examine airport integration, turnaround operations and cross-border considerations.
Dr. Eva Maleviti — Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University: Assistant Professor and MS Program Coordinator. Her expertise includes aviation sustainability, ICAO CORSIA, EU ETS, ESG, certification and maintenance, repair and overhaul. She will teach sustainability, life-cycle assessment and aviation fuel carbon-intensity calculations.
Together, the instructors connect fuel and propulsion expertise with aircraft design, airport operations and sustainability assessment, giving participants multiple perspectives on decisions that cross organizational boundaries.
SAF Combustion, Engine Operability and Fuel-System Compatibility
The opening session on October 20 examines the relationships among SAF production pathways, fuel properties, combustion behavior, engine performance and emissions.
Topics include lower heating value, density, viscosity, volatility, aromatic content and ignition quality. Participants will connect those properties with atomization, ignition delay, lean blowout, flame behavior and measured emissions.
The syllabus draws on evidence from NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), ASCENT and original equipment manufacturer testing, helping participants distinguish demonstrated fuel effects from assumptions.
The following engine-integration session traces fuel through the engine, examining spray formation, fuel-air mixing, heat release, combustion stability, durability and emissions. It also addresses thermal-oxidative stability, coking and fuel-system fouling.
Later instruction examines interactions between SAF and aircraft materials, including elastomer swelling, seal integrity and component durability. These subjects connect fuel composition with maintenance planning, fleet compatibility, dispatch reliability and operational efficiency.
The schedule also includes a dedicated session on the design and certification of SAF-compatible fuel systems.
Hydrogen Aviation and Hybrid-Electric Aircraft Design
The aircraft design portion examines how an energy carrier affects tankage, structure, center of gravity, propulsion architecture and mission performance.
Participants will compare SAF, liquid hydrogen, LNG, batteries and hybrid-electric configurations using first-order design methods and adapted range relationships. The analysis accounts for storage and integration requirements that influence the performance of the complete aircraft.
Dr. Clarke’s session uses a 50-seat regional aircraft case study to compare a SAF-fueled parallel-hybrid concept with a liquid-hydrogen fuel-cell serial-hybrid concept.
The session introduces the open-source RCAIDE conceptual design environment to explore configuration choices, energy management, mission performance, climate impact, direct operating cost and technology risk.
Participants will examine how route length, infrastructure, technology readiness and operating constraints can change the preferred architecture. That approach supports a practical understanding of why different aircraft and missions may require different energy solutions.
SAF Supply Chains, Blending Infrastructure and Airport Modernization
The supply-chain curriculum follows SAF from feedstock and conversion through blending, recertification, distribution and delivery to the aircraft.
Instruction covers HEFA, Fischer–Tropsch, alcohol-to-jet and power-to-liquid pathways, alongside the infrastructure and commercial considerations involved in moving fuel into service.
The syllabus references ASTM International’s D7566 and D1655 specifications and the ASTM D4054 qualification process. It also incorporates readings and guidance from CAAFI, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). These organizations appear as technical and regulatory reference sources in the curriculum.
Airport instruction then moves the analysis to the ramp. Dr. Rakas will compare SAF refueling with hydrogen and electric-aircraft turnaround requirements, examine airports as multi-energy hubs, and connect infrastructure constraints with aircraft and airline operating assumptions.
Cross-border logistics, fuel availability, certification and low-carbon fuel accounting are also included, making this portion relevant to airport modernization teams, airlines, fuel suppliers and infrastructure planners.
Life-Cycle Assessment and Aviation Fuel Carbon Intensity
The final session, scheduled for November 20, examines environmental, social and economic sustainability alongside life-cycle carbon accounting.
Participants will compare system boundaries, functional units, feedstock assumptions, conversion processes, electricity inputs, indirect land-use change and chain-of-custody models.
The session connects carbon-intensity calculations with SAF certification, CORSIA eligibility, auditing, procurement claims and design decisions. Recommended sources include ICAO sustainability guidance, ISCC CORSIA certification guidance and IATA book-and-claim guidance.
This instruction helps participants interpret how assessment assumptions influence comparisons between aviation fuels and energy systems. It also supports clearer communication of the evidence behind sustainability and procurement decisions.
Who Should Register for the October 20 Course?
The course is designed for aerospace and propulsion engineers, SAF producers, fuel-system specialists, airport and airline operations teams, sustainability professionals, certification and policy leaders, researchers and advanced students.
Companies developing hydrogen aviation, fuel cells or hybrid-electric aircraft can also benefit from the curriculum’s examination of energy-carrier trade-offs, aircraft integration and supporting infrastructure.
Participants will apply the course material through a co-design exercise that combines aircraft configuration with fuel supply, operations, infrastructure and policy constraints. The exercise uses a multi-criteria framework to compare direct operating cost, life-cycle climate impact, resource availability and technical risk.
Register Now: Live Online Sessions Begin Next Week
Advanced Sustainable Aviation Fuels and Aircraft Design begins Tuesday, October 20, 2026, and concludes Friday, November 20, 2026. Sessions generally take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the final session on Friday. All meetings run from 12:00–2:00 p.m. Central Time.
The course provides 22 hours of live online instruction across 11 sessions. The syllabus identifies two sessions—Design & Certification of SAF-Compatible Fuel Systems and Tools and Methods for Fuel-Aware Aircraft Design—as awaiting final instructor and detailed content assignments.
With the opening session next week and limited seats available, interested professionals should review the syllabus and register now through AIAA:
About HySky Society
HySky Society is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit dedicated to advancing hydrogen and electric flight through connection, community, advocacy, awareness and education. Its vision is clean skies for future generations through hydrogen-powered flight.
Its programs include HySky Connect, HySky Edu, Flying Hy, HySky Monthly and HySky Pod, serving professionals and organizations across aircraft development, hydrogen, aviation infrastructure and emerging flight technologies. Learn more at hysky.org.
FAQ
Is this a sustainable aviation fuel certification course?
Yes. The AIAA and HySky Society joint course, Advanced Sustainable Aviation Fuels and Aircraft Design, covers SAF production, combustion, certification and aircraft integration, and includes an AIAA Certificate of Completion.
Is this an aerospace engineering course or more general?
It's a technical aerospace engineering course focused on aircraft design, propulsion and SAF combustion, taught by instructors from six universities including Berkeley, Illinois and Embry-Riddle.
Is this good for professional development or continuing education in aviation?
Yes. It's built for working aerospace and propulsion engineers, SAF producers, airport and airline operations teams, and certification and sustainability professionals looking for continuing education in aviation. Classroom hours / CEUs: 22 classroom hours / 2.2 CEU/PDH.
Does the course cover aviation biofuel supply chains?
Yes. One full session covers SAF supply chains, including feedstock, conversion pathways, blending, distribution and ASTM certification requirements.
Is prior aerospace engineering training required?
No specific prerequisite is listed. The course is designed for aerospace professionals, researchers and advanced students with an interest in sustainable aviation fuels and aircraft design.