Who I am

I've been building remote-controlled airplanes since I was 10 years old. That obsession carried me to Georgia Tech, where I'm now a senior in aerospace engineering, and through hands-on engineering internships in propulsion, launch vehicle structures, and autonomous aircraft. I've spent my whole life learning how to make things fly, and then making them fly faster.

The first aircraft

Earlier this year, while taking a full course load, I designed, built and successfully flight tested a composite, jet-powered RC aircraft capable of flying 500 mph. There was no lab and no budget behind it. I did the composite layups myself, assembled everything by hand in my apartment, and cold-called farmers around Atlanta until one of them offered me a field to fly from.

What happened next

I posted the story online and it took off: 5 million views, a "nice" from Elon Musk, and venture capital firms reaching out to fund whatever came next. Then Blake Scholl, founder of Boom Supersonic, announced an $800,000 prize for the first amateur team to fly an RC aircraft past Mach 1. Since its amateur, venture money can't pay for it. So I'm funding this aircraft the same way I funded the first one -- directly, with the help of people or companies who want to see it fly.

The plan

I'm leading a team of Georgia Tech students to design, build, and fly a supersonic RC aircraft -- Reaper-M1 -- targeting a maiden in November/December. The total budget is around $70,000. I've already raised about $20,000, so I'm raising the remaining $50,000 here. See the full cost breakdown.

Supporter perks

Anyone who contributes $500+ gets added to a private email list with frequent build updates as Reaper-M1 comes together. Contribute $5,000 or more and you'll be invited out to the supersonic test flight in person.