Meet the Teams: EAGLE TEAM

When Duane Larson was seven years old, his mother began her long battle with cancer. To lift his spirits, his NAVY veteran father gave him a model of an F-14 Tomcat. Until then, the Airfoil Engine Systems LLP.’s EAGLE TEAM Captain was certain he would grow up to be a firefighter. The skull and bones paint scheme of that iconic VF-84 Jolly Rogers CAG aircraft model changed everything!

“I was totally smitten,” Duane enthusiastically recalls. “It sparked my entire passion and laid the foundation of who I am and where I am today.”

For the 54-year-old entrepreneur, the GoAERO challenge “today” means captainship of a global team. He relates that GoAERO is “karmic. It melds all my passions. It excites my desire to innovate. It allows me to help develop a novel aircraft concept. It’s an extraordinary opportunity. And most of all, I can’t think of a competition that is so altruistic by nature to be able to influence and ensure safety, rescue, and recovery in emergency situations.”

GoAERO’s humanitarian mission also offers a vehicle for advancing his business—Airfoil Engine Systems LLP., based in Cranberry Township, PA, near Pittsburgh—toward growth and revenue. He and all of the members of EAGLE TEAM see “altruism and profit as symbiotic, not mutually exclusive goals.”

Duane’s instinct for entrepreneurship was instilled in him by his father, whom he calls “my greatest inspiration. He taught me by example, without words, that quitting is simply not an option and that it is OK to fall as long as you fall forward!” His dad ignited a “fire for both aviation and entrepreneurism that has burned brightly” throughout his life.

That fire has never been extinguished despite confronting several serious personal and professional obstacles. His circuitous route to GoAERO started at Penn State University in 1989, where he studied aerospace engineering. Following college, he had several diverse careers, including automotive mechanics, route sales, security, and truck driving. By 2022, after nearly two decades as a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union #5, his passion for aviation had led him full circle when he founded Airfoil Engine Systems LLP.

During that journey came a life-changing and career-changing encounter with retired US Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell at a local restaurant during a Wounded Warrior function. Luttrell is the recipient of both the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart for his valiant actions against Taliban fighters during Operation Red Wings in June 2005. He was the only survivor in that battle; his story was the inspiration for the best-selling book and hit film “Lone Survivor.”

“His heroic story deeply impacted me,” Duane explains. “Our efforts for the GoAERO challenge are focused on civilian purposes but rescue knows no limits. I was inspired to create my company to develop personal aircraft that could make flying greener, more efficient and above all, safer. EAGLE TEAM takes that aspiration, and we are working to apply it to rescuing persons in danger no matter

the scenario.”

To do so, EAGLE TEAM believes its Mission Adaptable Rescue Vehicle Network (M.A.R.VI.N.) will provide emergency professionals with a disruptive aerial technology to complement current fixed and rotary wing aircraft. “Our coaxial, hybrid-electric, micro-helicopter, featuring folding wings and a tilting main rotor system, promises to allow EMT, firefighting, and law enforcement personnel unparalleled access to environments currently restricted to legacy air assets due to navigational, physical size or weather restrictions,” Duane explains. “M.A.R.VI.N. will separate itself from the other competitors by utilizing familiar navigation and control systems, rugged, aviation-grade components, and well-understood aerodynamics.”

He explains that “our secret sauce....is modifying the world’s most capable single-person micro-helicopter to fly autonomously with or without a passenger.”

EAGLE TEAM is convinced that by starting with something that is proven to work and modifying it to provide cutting-edge capabilities and flight performance, costs of both development and customer ownership will drop substantially. “M.A.R.VI.N. will change the world by enabling small organizations to lease or purchase this low-cost, cutting-edge emergency aircraft that provides extended loiter time for search and rescue, a large payload and long range, along with both

excellent maneuverability and extreme stability,” Duane maintains. “We believe that our novel concept is well suited for both fast, heavy payload transport and ultra-stable insertion and extraction of personnel in aberrant weather and degraded navigational environments. Once developed, our clean-sheet M.A.R.VI.N. concept promises unparalleled capabilities beyond legacy aircraft of its size.”

EAGLE TEAM’s Captain readily credits the other 9 team members as “consummate professionals and like-minded visionaries who have exceeded my wildest expectations with their extraordinary focus and skills. First and foremost, we are a true fellowship. Our outstanding esprit de corps is our greatest strength.” Three of his teammates live in the United States but Airfoil Engine Systems LLP.

’s EAGLE TEAM is truly a global team. Vishruth Balaji who is studying for his master’s degree at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX works as an ISAM Aerospace Engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center. Parisa Soheili, a QC Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who worked on the MARS helicopter, and Mark Rumsey, the team’s chief designer who worked on the

international space station and the FA-18 SuperHornet programs, both live in California. Gabriele Stagnaro, the CTO and lead engineer on whose basic design idea the M.A.R.VI.N. is based, is from Italy. Vaibhav Sharma, the team’s most energetic young designer, and Hector Olono, their experienced CCO, are both from the UK. Raissa Macedo, a talented computer engineering student working in the team’s software group, is from Brazil. Hari Venkataraman, who works for Airbus

as a Certification Specialist, splits time between India and the UK, while Vanshdeep Mahajan, the team’s lead for Flight Dynamics & Controls, hails from Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

Duane also draws inspiration from professionals outside of his team including Dr. Paul Moller, the Canadian engineer who developed the Skycar M400 and pioneered novel personal VTOL technology along with the many mentors who lead the GoAERO expert webinars who have allowed him to understand relevant engineering and business principles in greater depth.

While EAGLE TEAM has a “fantastic design, great business plan, and a well-thought-out GoAERO fly-off strategy,” he admits that they have challenges to overcome. He cites funding and physical resources to build the prototype as developmental obstacles. To that end, the team is finalizing an investor pitch deck presentation and is currently discussing with potential collaborators to secure funding and components to create its full-size prototype. Success for their project will take hard work, luck, and persistence.

Duane is blessed to still have his mom and dad, as well as that toy airplane. It reminds him of all of his good fortune and inspires him to create a real aircraft that will help others during their own personal crises. Along with his parents, his wife Jacqueline, co-owner of Airfoil Engine Systems LLP. and a 25-year elementary school STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) teacher, his 26-year-old son and 19-year-old daughter all support his aviation ambitions. “They know this is

who I am. They share my entrepreneurial spirit. They understand this is something I needed to sink my teeth into, and their support is everything I could ever ask for.”

Duane says that they, as well as all the EAGLE TEAM members, share a simple but far-reaching philosophy: “If you want the world to change, you have to change the world!”