Drone: Researching & Making
Since middle school, I’ve been fascinated by unconventional aircraft designs and the idea of pushing beyond traditional aerodynamics. This obsession led me to experiment with drones as a practical way to test theories. Each variation became a laboratory for exploring lift, stability, and control, often inspired by unusual concepts rather than standard engineering solutions.
I worked with CAD programs like Fusion 360 and Onshape, alongside 3D printing using ABS, PLA, and TPU. I studied animal flight mechanics—particularly bats—to model wing structures, while also experimenting with fiberglass and composite materials. These projects taught me how to merge theoretical design with hands-on fabrication, balancing creativity with technical precision.
Materials :
ABS, PLA, Copper, tin, linen, TPU
Technique : Fusion 360, Onshape, 3d Printing, Prusa Mk4
The aircraft shown above is Stiletto V4, a silo-launched chaser drone designed to track and follow a moving vehicle. Its design was inspired by several drones from different companies, and I combined ideas from them into my own build. It launches from a silo using a CO2 cartridge, which gives it a fast start instead of a slow takeoff from the ground.
It is V4 because getting it to survive that launch took repeated redesigns. The pressure of the CO2 launch was hard on every part, so I kept swapping components to find ones that could handle it. The 3D-printed frame was the biggest problem: it was either too heavy for the drone to fly well or it shattered under the force of the launch. Each version fixed a problem the previous one exposed, and V4 is the first that could take the launch and still fly.
My curiosity has also taken me into the air. I tried to earn a drone pilot license in Korea, which turned out to be difficult, especially since I wasn’t yet 15. I wasn’t able to complete it, but I didn’t want to give up on learning to fly. My dad and I would drive two hours to a training school, where the surrounding airspace was cleared for flying. There, I practiced on flight simulators and trained on agricultural drones, which are larger and more demanding than the small hobby drones most people start with. Even though I didn’t get the license, the experience taught me how much preparation goes into controlling a machine safely, and it deepened my interest in building and operating things that move.
Me during middle school causing a mess in my room building this stuff. I attempted to build a fixed wing single prop plane. I was thinking that I could layer and carve a airfoil and solder and hide all the wiring withing the layers of foam like a real plane.