Happy New Year! 2024 was a transformative year for DarkAero! While ground testing on the DarkAero 1 prototype continued, much more occurred behind the scenes to grow the team, increase manufacturing capabilities, expand DarkAero Services work, and lay the foundation for kit production. With the start of a new year, we want to highlight accomplishments from the past twelve months and share the vision for the future of DarkAero. 

DarkAero 1 Testing
Extensive physical testing has been used to prove out the structures and systems of the DarkAero 1, and a significant amount of ground testing was performed over the past year. Some of these tests included proof load testing the control system, pressure testing and leak checking the wet wing fuel tanks, and proof load testing the empennage and tail structures.

The landing gear was also heavily tested through a three phase drop testing campaign, which so far has included over 100 drops across a range of attitudes and heights. These tests helped validate the landing gear design, characterize its behavior, and identify areas for improvement. Design elements that were refined based on testing included the tire selection, tire pressure, shocks, shock pressure, shock geometry, internal shock valving, trailing link geometry, and landing gear support structures.

Drop testing is nearing completion, and the final phase of nose high drop testing is targeted for completion in early 2025. 

Many other small but critical airframe tasks were completed over the past year including balancing the control surfaces, updating the seatbelt from a 5-point to a 6-point harness, and adding protective covers over control system hardware.

Some of this work was highlighted on the DarkAero YouTube channel:

DarkAero Services
In the background, work has extended well beyond the prototype aircraft as DarkAero has been quietly designing, building, and testing multiple aerospace vehicle platforms through its engineering services for customers in the aerospace and defense sector. In 2024, multiple airframes were delivered for different aircraft designs, and it was motivating for the team to see one of the designs achieve first flight. 

These milestones reflect the growth of DarkAero from a small team solely focused on DarkAero 1 development into a larger, more diversified aerospace company. While the DarkAero 1 remains a central focus, the engineering, manufacturing, and testing capabilities developed during its creation have positioned DarkAero to take on a broader range of projects. This growth has enabled sustainable development of the DarkAero 1 while building a foundation for long-term success. Balancing work on the DarkAero 1 with high-value projects for other aerospace organizations has ensured that the vision for DarkAero remains uncompromised.

As we head into 2025, we remain committed to designing and building advanced aircraft with unique capabilities while ensuring the sustainability of DarkAero 1 development and scalability of DarkAero 1 kit production.

Team Growth
An important part of expanding capabilities at DarkAero has been growing the team, which has more than doubled over the past year. Scaling the team and transferring knowledge and skills to new team members has presented a new set of challenges outside of what has been tackled in developing the DarkAero 1.

Given that new team members come in with different skill levels and backgrounds, it was important to have an effective training process to maintain the quality standards that were established with the DarkAero 1 prototype. The framework for this was already in place with the DarkAero Aerospace Composites Courses, which have been taught for the past three years and more recently began serving as accelerated training for new team members.

As the team has grown, the legacy manufacturing standards and procedures, which were established for a smaller team, needed to evolve. New documentation and organization procedures were developed that were better suited for the larger team environment. The updated standards included more detailed work instructions, more formal manufacturing workflows, and critical quality checkpoints that provided a shared framework for team members. This systematic approach enabled manufacturing to scale while preserving the precision and craftsmanship that defines DarkAero hardware.

The team has continued to grow, and interviews for engineers and technicians have been ongoing. Individuals with a strong work ethic, hands-on skills, and a desire to work on challenging projects are an ideal fit at DarkAero. If you want to be part of a dedicated team designing and building new aircraft, check out the DarkAero Careers page and apply today!

Expansion of Capabilities
A new Tormach 1500MX CNC was acquired in 2024. Adding this machine to the arsenal of tools at DarkAero has provided a measurable increase in machining capability, as it was immediately put to work manufacturing landing gear parts for the DarkAero 1 prototype, as well as a number of molds and components for contract manufacturing projects. The 1500MX provides increased machining volume and more power for rapid cycle times compared to the previous CNC used to make prototype DarkAero 1 parts. It also offers a number of features for increased automation in a production environment. More details on the new machine were discussed in a video on the DarkAero YouTube channel, which can be viewed at the link below: 

DarkAero Courses
The DarkAero Aerospace Composites and Aerospace Mold Making Courses remained popular in 2024 with multiple sessions of both courses held in the first half of the year. To date, hundreds of students from beginners to professionals have enrolled to accelerate their progress building experimental aircraft, eVTOLs, drones, UAVs, boats, racecars, electric vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, and military hardware. Both courses have continued to be refined and improved through each session, and the value they deliver to anyone exploring composites continues to increase. More sessions will be run in 2025. If you're interested in signing up for any upcoming course sessions or want to get started with the online version, check out the links below:

Aerospace Composites Course 

Online Aerospace Composites Course

Aerospace Mold Making Course

Online Aerospace Mold Making Course

Looking Ahead
A number of hardware refinement tasks and ground tests remain before transitioning the DarkAero 1 prototype back into taxi testing and then flight testing. Hardware items that will be improved before flight testing include the main gear retract mechanism, main gear emergency extend mechanism, nose gear centering mechanism, and rudder return spring. Outstanding ground testing includes the remaining main gear drop tests, further vertical tail proof loading, and proof loading of the wing attachment lugs.