Design. Build. Fly. Iterate.

Using subscale aircraft to turn engineering assumptions into flight evidence.

Hands-on development of fixed-wing, multirotor, and hybrid eVTOL UAS from subscale prototypes through integrated flight validation—spanning airframe fabrication, propulsion, avionics, payload integration, and 100+ iterative ground and flight-test campaigns.

Client

DRDO — RCI / DYSL

Year

2019–2023

Industry

Advanced Aircraft Development / Defense Aerospace / UAS

Turnaround time

Subscale Aircraft, Design-Build-Fly, Flight Test, Rapid Prototyping, Experimental Aircraft, Fixed-Wing UAS, Multirotor, Hybrid eVTOL, Propulsion Integration, Avionics Integration, Payload Integration, Composite Structures, Carbon Fiber, Vacuum Bagging, CNC Foam Core, 3D Printing, Ground Test, Test Planning, Anomaly Resolution, Root Cause Analysis, Configuration Iteration, V&V

The Challenge

Subscale aircraft provide a fast path from concept to physical evidence—but only when design, fabrication, integration, and flight test operate as one continuous engineering loop.

At DRDO RCI/DYSL, I worked across three concurrent UAS programs, progressing aircraft from subscale builds toward full-scale prototypes and flight validation under demanding schedule and resource constraints.

Design → Build → Fly

My work spanned the complete prototype-development cycle:

fixed-wing, multirotor, and hybrid eVTOL configurations
subscale-to-full-scale prototype development
propulsion, avionics, and payload integration
system checkout and troubleshooting
carbon-fiber layups and vacuum bagging
CNC foam-core milling
3D-printed prototype components
rapid configuration changes
ground and flight-test execution

Flight Test & Iteration

I planned and managed 100+ iterative test campaigns, using structured test briefs, post-flight debriefs, anomaly investigation, root-cause analysis, and corrective action to feed flight-test evidence directly back into the next aircraft configuration.