Team Rescue Pack from North Carolina State University has formidable talents and a myriad of trajectories that led each member to participate in GoAERO’s global endeavor to develop a new class of emergency response aircraft. The overarching mission, though, is one all members share.

 “If successful, it could change the world by reducing the response time in life-threatening situations,” declares Karthik Kannan, a master’s degree candidate at NCSU.  “In disasters like hurricanes, wildfires, or earthquakes, minutes, even seconds, can mean the difference between life and death. So, our goal for our flyer is to be first on the scene, delivering medical aid, supplies, or rescuing people trapped in dangerous conditions, especially when traditional ground or air vehicles are slowed down by infrastructure damage or difficult terrain.”

To achieve this goal, each team member is bringing their own diverse path and perspective on aerospace engineering that collectively strengthens their shared vision. 

Some team members found their inspiration through media and popular culture:

  • Jonah Whitt, a master’s degree student, was inspired by watching a documentary about the development of the Boeing 747, quickly realizing, “That is what I want to do!” 
  • Koda Lemelin was also inspired by film, specifically the blockbusters Top Gun and Hidden Figures.  
  • Alex Stillman’s journey began with an interest in Leonardo da Vinci’s “flying machines” after initially pursuing paleontology.
  • Weston Fong, a PhD student with a focus in eVTOL flight mechanics and controller design, has always had a fascination for documentaries about flight, especially those that dissected the reasons for crashes.

Family connections and early exposure to aviation influenced others:  

  • Alex Keller, a master’s degree student, is the son of two engineers who work in the aeronautics industry. 
  • Ashutosh “AC” Chandravanshi, also a master’s degree student, remembers sitting at a local airport with their dad, watching planes take off and dreaming about flying. 
  • Braeden Coughlin, another master’s degree student, fell in love with aviation through childhood visits to airshows.  

And the team’s expertise extends to those drawn by the technical aspects and  by pioneering aviators:

  • Hadie Hesham Sabbah, who is pursuing a master’s degree, always had an interest in applied physics, especially as it related to aviation.
  • Karthik Kannan cites a meeting with legendary Apollo 11 astronaut and second man on the moon, Buzz Aldrin, that left a “profound impression on me.”
  • Max Shipp, a junior studying aerospace engineering, has always looked up to aircraft designer legend Burt Rutan for his out-of-the-box thinking and ingenious designs. This led him to join the university’s aerial robotics team in his freshman year.

The team members acknowledge the magnitude of the GoAERO challenge, but they also find inspiration in President John F. Kennedy's words about America's space program. Like the moon mission he championed, the GoAERO challenge represents a similar leap into unknown territory. In his famous 1962 Rice University speech about America’s space aspirations, he declared, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”

The challenge of GoAERO is one that the entire NCSU team, to a person, is willing to accept. AC, who holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the university, draws personal inspiration from renowned aerospace engineers Kelly Johnson, who designed the SR-71 Blackbird, and Igor Sikorsky, the pioneer of helicopters. AC shared: “This excites me because it offers a unique platform to apply cutting-edge aviation innovations to real-world challenges. What I find most thrilling is the opportunity to directly contribute to the future of emergency response and sustainable aviation. It’s inspiring to be part of a community of experts and innovators who share the same passion for pushing the boundaries of aerospace technology.”

This enthusiasm for innovation resonates throughout the team. Jonah, who received an undergraduate degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is similarly thrilled to be a member of this community of innovators, especially since his desire to be a pilot was derailed by vision problems. He related: “I decided that aerospace engineering is the next best thing I could do. The COVID lockdown was in the middle of my undergraduate studies. As a consequence, I never actually got much hands-on experience building something, or designing something that is actually going to be made. The GoAERO prize has the ultimate goal of doing that, of building an aircraft, which is something that really excites me, as I’ll be able to see all the theory I’ve studied put into the real world.”

The excitement of creating something unprecedented extends beyond individual aspirations. The prospect of designing something “novel” with the NCSU team of other “very talented” engineers and engineering students excites Braeden. “Each of us has a vision for what is possible with this project,” he says, noting that he also works with other non-university-based engineers at AIXI, an AI start-up in Raleigh. “If we are able to execute even a few of the components of these visions, I am sure we can achieve something great.”

Alex Stillman notes that such an achievement would not be possible without the latest advances in AI and eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) manufacturing. “Our vehicle will show the current maturity of eVTOL technology and its ability to be effectively implemented in emergency response situations.  Our team is focusing on endurance and maneuverability, which lends itself to long distance ferrying and rescue missions in places with obstacles. This is unique to VTOL aircraft, as conventional, fixed-wing vehicles are unable to operate in places with lots of obstacles, and conventional rescue rotorcraft are primarily designed to hover.” 

While the team’s vision is clear, translating it into reality presents multiple challenges.  On the technical front, the team grapples with implementing LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) for navigation – a particularly complex task given the speeds at which the flyer will operate and the need for three-dimensional awareness. They must also solve the intricate puzzle of integrating advanced AI and autonomy while maintaining stringent safety standards for emergency response missions. Perhaps the most challenging is developing systems sophisticated enough to navigate complex environments and make split-second decisions in critical situations. 

Beyond these technical hurdles, the team faces operational challenges that test their engineering creativity. The team must carefully evaluate and select from numerous design configurations ensuring each component works in harmony with the others. As Koda notes, “Even getting past all the potential design configuration options and settling on those that can work together for our aircraft is itself a challenge.” They must also strike a delicate balance between endurance and maneuverability while maintaining the reliability essential for emergency response missions. 

Adding to these technical and operational considerations, the team faces significant business and development hurdles. Most team members have limited experience in fundraising and marketing, a skill set that is crucial for bringing GoAERO flyers to life. The non-engineering aspects of designing and building a full-scale flyer, from project management to regulatory compliance, present their own unique challenges. 

Of course, as Weston cites, time – balancing their GoAERO assignments with their coursework – is an ongoing challenge. 

Many of these challenges are addressed by the GoAERO experts who regularly conduct webinars for all the teams, ensuring critical knowledge gaps are filled.  Alex Keller, a second-year graduate student focusing on vertical take-off and landing vehicles and who has published a paper on controller design for an Urban Air Mobility Lift+Cruise eVTOL, says that through the webinars, “The entire team hopes to gain insights and experience into the aircraft rescue industry, as helping to further such an industry is helping to better the world by allowing rescue operations and saving more people.” 

Perhaps the biggest challenge, they say, is the very mission of GoAERO: developing an autonomous system that can navigate complex environments and make real-time decisions is crucial yet complex.

Despite these obstacles, the team remains focused on their ultimate goal. As Hadie, a first-year master’s degree candidate, points out: “While our flyer must meet many mission requirements, at NC State we have a lot of support from professors, including our faculty advisor Dr. Farhan Gandhi and co-advisor Dr. Felix Ewere, and nearby companies that will help us along the way.” 

This support network, combined with the team’s determination, fuels their progress. The team's work on the GoAERO challenge represents more than just technical innovation; it embodies the potential for aerospace engineering to impact emergency response and save lives directly. As they continue to develop their flyer, they're not just building an aircraft; they're working to transform the future of disaster response and humanitarian aid. Through their diverse backgrounds, technical expertise, and shared vision, the NC State team is turning the promise of autonomous emergency response vehicles into reality, one challenge at a time.