Longhorn eVTOL
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A piloted eVTOL, built by students at Texas.

Longhorn eVTOL designs, builds, and tests a single-seat electric multirotor at UT Austin, one reviewed phase at a time.

Get involvedRead the baseline
2.99 mØ 1.42 m coaxial pairoccupanttopsideupper rotorlower rotor4 arms × 2 rotors = 8
Preliminary configuration. Four arms, each with an upper and a lower rotor.

14 CFR Part 103

254 pounds, batteries included.

Part 103 needs no pilot license or airworthiness certificate, but it caps empty weight. The vehicle has to stay under it and still lift a 160 lb pilot with twice the thrust it needs.

Estimated empty weight 250 lb

229 lb if the parachute is excluded as a safety device

254 lb limit
  • Battery packs (4)38.6 kg
  • Propulsion units (8)33.5 kg
  • Airframe14.5 kg
  • Recovery parachute9.5 kg
  • Seat and controls7.3 kg
  • Gear and motor mounts5 kg
  • Avionics and power5 kg

2.19

Thrust-to-weight with a 160 lb pilot

408 kgf

Total thrust after coaxial losses

6.5 kWh

Four independent 18S Li-ion packs

≈25 kW

Estimated electrical hover power

Propulsion

Units
8 × Hobbywing X13 G2, motor, ESC, and prop in one
Rotors
56 in folding, coaxial pairs on 4 folding arms
Thrust
60 kgf max each, 4.19 kg each
Motor out
Thrust-to-weight stays at 1.92

Energy storage

Cells
Molicel P50B 21700, 5 Ah, 60 A continuous
Packs
4 × 18S5P, 64.8 V nominal, 9.6 kg each
Endurance
About 8 min planned, pending thermal tests
Pack out
Two opposite motors drop, six keep flying

Flight computing

Controller
Pixhawk 6X Pro, triple IMU, real-time OS
Sensors
Dual Here4 GNSS, LW20/C LiDAR
Safety monitor
IGLOO2 FPGA, own IMU, power, and reset
Companion
Jetson Orin NX, advisory only

Safety systems

E-stop
Hardwired, opens every pack contactor
Per pack
GX14 contactor, pre-charge, fuse, BMS
Recovery
Galaxy GRS 3 270 ballistic parachute
Pilot
Fly-by-wire, attitude stabilized

Preliminary figures from manufacturer data and engineering estimates, replaced by thrust stand data and fixed at the Preliminary Design Review. Full derivation

Three phases. Each one earns the next.

No phase starts until the VP of Engineering, the Chief Safety Officer, and our University Advisor approve it in writing.

  1. Subscale unmanned

    1/3 scale coaxial X8, 6S, 15 in props, about 5 kg

    Proves the control stack, the safety monitor, and our test procedures at low energy.

  2. design and safety review

    Full-scale tethered

    Full vehicle, no occupant, restrained then tethered

    Custom boards and logic build documented run time here before anything carries a person.

  3. design and safety review

    Piloted

    Low altitude, day VFR, off campus

    Only after the full-scale vehicle has proven itself unmanned and our faculty advisors sign off.

Seven teams, real hardware from week one.

Projects run from a first circuit board to the safety monitor. Pick a team and start on something the vehicle needs.

Electrical and Power

  • PDU and wiring harness
  • ESC and motor integration
  • Avionics power architecture
  • Safety interlocks and E-stop
  • Custom PCB design

  • Buck converter board

    Design, lay out, and bring up a 6S to 5 V, 3 A converter for the subscale avionics.

  • Current and voltage sense board

    Shunt and current-monitor board that logs motor current on the thrust stand.

  • Custom ESC

    18S, 150 A FOC inverter on 150 V OptiMOS FETs and VESC firmware, proven on the dyno first.

  • Subscale power distribution board

    Fused high-current PDB with a voltage tap for the 6S demonstrator.

  • Battery management system

    Per-pack BMS board and firmware: state of charge, balancing, temperature limits, and fault reports to the flight controller.

  • Power distribution unit

    Bus bars, fuses, contactors, and per-branch current sensing that route pack power to the motors.

  • Vehicle wiring harness

    Power, low-voltage, and CAN wiring between packs, ESCs, flight computers, and cockpit, routed through folding arms.

  • Pre-charge and contactor driver

    HV bus pre-charge, contactor coil drive, and interlock for each pack.

  • Low-voltage buck board

    75 V to 12 V avionics supply on an LTC7801, redundant with COTS modules.

  • Hardwired E-stop loop

    Contactor interlock chain that opens every pack with no software in the path.

No experience required. No dues.

Any major, any year. Funding comes from sponsors and grants, and nobody pays for parts out of pocket.

  1. Show up

    Come to a general meeting. You are a member, no application.

  2. Get trained

    Finish safety onboarding and three work sessions.

  3. Build

    Join a team, get shop access, and vote.

Get involved

Officers

  • Pranav ShivashankarPresident
  • Rihan BabuVP of Engineering
  • Akshay MallireddyVP of Safety and Operations

Treasurer, Secretary, and Director of Outreach are open. So are team lead roles.