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Purpose This study aims to present a method for improving the preliminary design process of an aircraft. Design/methodology/approach The approach of this paper is using Axiomatic Design (AD) principles in the aircraft preliminary design process. The aircraft design process consists of modules and disciplines, which are loosely coupled that can disrupt designers’ ability. Consequently, designers should define suitable functional requirements (FRs) and design parameters for products to avoid or limit coupling between them. As modular architecture is commonly defined as having a one-to-one mapping from the function domain to the physical domain, the independence axiom in AD could support the modularity of the design process. Therefore, these features guide us to use AD principles at the first steps of the aircraft design process. Findings Reduction coupling between different FRs and consequently less repetitive activities and design iteration in the design process by using AD principles are the finding of this paper. Practical implications This concept could be used for the design process of every complex product. Originality/value Looking at the preliminary design of a Blended Wing Body unmanned aerial vehicle with respect to the AD is a new technique to achieve a modular design process.