The DARPA LIFT Challenge seeks VTOL aircraft that can carry four times their own weight; a capability that doesn't currently exist. Success would enable new applications in logistics, emergency response, and remote operations where traditional helicopters are too heavy and drones lack sufficient capacity.

We're in Phase 2 (Design and Build) with key milestones ahead: March 2026 build documentation, May 2026 flight test video and FAA certification, and Summer 2026 competition flights.

Avalon Aero is a two-person aerospace startup founded in Southern California. The primary goal is to compete in the DARPA Heavy Lift Challenge. Our team consists of Alec Ohanesian, a manufacturing engineer at Rolls-Royce, and John Boranian, an aerospace engineering graduate student at UCLA. We work on this project independently in our personal time.

We're developing Excalibur, a swashplateless coaxial helicopter designed to achieve a 4:1 payload-to-weight ratio—targeting 25-30 lbs aircraft weight with 130 lbs payload capacity using dual 10-foot counter-rotating rotors.

Our design eliminates the traditional swashplate mechanism, saving 8-12 pounds, by using inclined lag-pitch coupling hinges positioned at 50 degrees from vertical. Electronic motor torque modulation creates lead-lag oscillations that passively couple into cyclic pitch control. This approach is validated by research from the University of Pennsylvania.

The aircraft uses dual electric motors with independent torque control, belt drive reduction, three-plate carbon fiber frame construction, and custom flight controller firmware for swashplateless control algorithms.