Profession: Engineer/Designer

Number of times previously entering contest: 1

Favorite design and analysis tools: COMSOL Multiphysics
Integrate-Test-Modify
Matlab/Simulink
Paper/Pencil/Excel
Create a subscale mockup
Create working subsystems (high thrust to power and weight rotors)
Performance Analysis using Physics (tool agnostic)
Rules of Thumb
Peer Review

Hobbies and activities: Multi-Rotor Propulsion, Experimental Aircraft, EAA

Online communities: LinkedIn, AFLCMC/HNAA, EAA, KC1COJ, ARRL, TAPR

Inspired by: First of all, direct experience with challenges in the design space. Second, areas that can be exploited in the design space that offers new capability. In this case, in the description I went into a lot of detail on prior art, because the idea of making the propeller a sizable fraction of wingspan begins to make some sense based on aircraft such as Egrett, Stratos 2C and Solar Impulse. The use of COMSOL in areas involving multiphysics is another inspiration. I have attended several COMSOL workshops such as App Builder and basic multiphysics. The COMSOL solution is not Matlab, and it is not Mathematica. The inspiration is the fact that some folks like Raytheon and now Bear Defense Services have sustained prop driven stratospheric explorers, which now the Swiss and Titan Aerospace have continued in their own way. Thanks to Steve Gulino for his support at Bear Defense Services and to COMSOL Multiphysics. Mr. Clif Banner and my BACN team inspired me as well.