Avalon Aero — Excalibur

Avalon Aero is an aerospace startup I co-founded to compete in the DARPA LIFT (Lifting Intelligence for Future Technology) Challenge — a program pushing the boundaries of vertical lift technology for defense applications.

The Vehicle

Excalibur is a swashplateless coaxial helicopter targeting a 4:1 payload-to-weight ratio: 130 lb payload on a 25 lb airframe. Eliminating the swashplate — the mechanical system that controls rotor blade pitch on conventional helicopters — reduces mechanical complexity, weight, and failure points while enabling a more compact and robust design.

We designed a novel cyclic pitch control system that eliminates traditional swashplate mechanisms via inclined lag-pitch coupling hinges and electronic motor torque modulation, reducing system weight by 8–12 lbs compared to conventional rotor head designs.

Why It Matters

DARPA’s LIFT Challenge is pushing the boundaries of what unmanned vertical lift can do. Current rotorcraft struggle with payload fractions at this scale. Our coaxial configuration and swashplateless design is a direct response to that constraint.

My Role

As co-founder I’ve been involved across the full development process — from initial concept and vehicle architecture through carbon fiber structural design, motor/ESC specification, FAA certification coordination, and technical partnership negotiations with propulsion and component suppliers — all under a 6-month build-to-fly timeline.

My background in aerospace manufacturing and CNC machining has been directly applicable to how we think about producibility and tolerance stack-up on critical components.

Learn More

Visit avalon-aero.com for more on the project.