AVALON AERO
AVALON AERO
Conventional helicopters control blade pitch with a swashplate, mechanically complex, heavy, and another point of failure. Excalibur replaces it with inclined lag-pitch coupling hinges set 50° from vertical. Independent torque modulation on each rotor's electric motor drives a lead-lag oscillation that passively couples into cyclic pitch control, an approach grounded in rotorcraft research from the University of Pennsylvania.
On top of the steady torque spinning each rotor, our flight controller injects a sine wave into the motor command, one cycle per revolution. Each blade leads and lags slightly as it travels around the disk, and the inclined hinge converts that oscillation into cyclic pitch. The phase of the wave sets which way the aircraft tilts. The amplitude sets how hard. Full control authority, two motors, no swashplate.
The LIFT Challenge asks for a VTOL aircraft that can carry four times its own weight over a 5 nautical mile course, a capability that doesn't exist today. Solving it opens new missions in logistics, emergency response, and remote operations, where traditional helicopters are too heavy and drones can't carry enough.
Avalon Aero is a three-person aerospace startup based in Southern California, built independently around day jobs and a vision for what a swashplateless coaxial airframe can do.
Our team responds to all serious inquiries within twenty-four hours. For immediate questions about our design or competition timeline, please reach out directly. We are available for technical presentations, press interviews, and potential investor discussions as we build toward Summer 2026.