Flight Sciences Engineer
About the job
- B.S. or M.S. in Aerospace Engineering or a closely related field
- 5+ years of meaningful hands-on experience in flight sciences, vehicle performance, or flight dynamics
- Proficiency in vehicle performance modeling: energy-based methods, point-mass and full 6-DOF simulation, power-required/available analysis
- Experience building or working with aerodynamic databases and stability derivative sets for flight simulation or loads analysis
- Familiarity with flight test methods: test card development, FTI requirements, data reduction, and prediction-to-flight correlation
- Strong programming skills in Python and/or MATLAB for analysis, post-processing, and tool development
- Solid understanding of fixed-wing, rotary-wing, or hybrid lift+cruise vehicle aeromechanics
- Working proficiency with aerodynamic analysis tools across fidelity levels — from low-order methods (panel codes, blade element, XFOIL) through mid-fidelity (RANS CFD): sufficient to set up runs, interpret results, and interface with dedicated CFD engineers
- Clear technical communication skills: able to distill complex analysis into concise summaries for engineering and program leadership
- Own vehicle performance modeling across hover, transition, and cruise: mission analysis, hybrid-electric energy management, climb optimization, and range/endurance trades
- Build and maintain 6-DOF flight dynamics models for a lift+cruise configuration: aero database construction through the transition corridor, rotor-wing interaction modeling, stability derivatives, and trim analysis in hover, transition, and cruise
- Contribute to vehicle design trades: feed flight sciences insight into OML shaping, drag reduction, control surface sizing, and flight controls architecture to close performance and handling qualities requirements
- Derive external flight loads across the operational envelope and collaborate with the structures team to define limit and ultimate load cases, support fatigue analysis, and feed aeroelastic models
- Support flight test planning, instrumentation requirements, and post-flight data reduction and analysis; correlate measured performance against analytical predictions
- Build and improve simulation environments used for envelope expansion, handling qualities assessment, and controls development
- Partner with propulsion and power teams to integrate hybrid-electric powertrain models into mission analysis; define power-required envelopes and binding constraints across the flight profile
- Contribute to certification planning by authoring compliance analyses, performance substantiation reports, and supporting V&V documentation
- Direct experience with eVTOL, tiltrotor, or lift+cruise configurations — including transition corridor analysis, transition schedule definition, and rotor-wing aerodynamic interaction
- Background in hybrid-electric propulsion performance modeling: energy management strategy, battery sizing trades, and BSFC/TSFC integration into mission analysis
- Experience designing internal flows, including ducting, intakes, and cooling flows
- Rotor and/or propeller design experience
- Handling qualities assessment experience using ADS-33 or FAA/EASA equivalents
- Exposure to flight simulation environments: JSBSim, Simulink/FlightGear, or equivalent
- Experience with certification under FAA Part 23, Part 27, or EASA SC-VTOL frameworks
- Background in aeroelastics or structural loads as they relate to flight envelope definition
About the company
Elroy Air builds autonomous cargo aircraft for middle-mile logistics. Its Chaparral is a hybrid-electric VTOL unmanned system that carries 300–500 pounds up to 300 miles, autonomously handling modular cargo pods for pickup and drop-off without the need for runways or charging infrastructure. It sells aircraft to commercial and government customers through an OEM model, backed by partnerships with Kratos for U.S. production and active defense programs, including a multi-year Army contract. The company aims to scale safe, autonomous aerial delivery globally, reducing dependence on ground transport and reshaping supply chains.
Company Size
11-50
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
$270M
Headquarters
South San Francisco, California
Founded
2016
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- The September 24, 2026 PIPE reached $175 million, with $75 million funded already.
- The August 18, 2026 Army contract totals $46.1 million through 2029.
- Louisiana flights on September 2, 2026 validated uncrewed operations under FAA oversight.
What critics are saying
- The SPAC closes only after shareholder and regulatory approvals in Q4 2026.
- Army funding starts at $5.1 million; the rest depends on future appropriations.
- Late-2026 production at Kratos slips, and Elroy Air misses every commercial and defense promise.
What makes Elroy Air unique
- Chaparral combines 500-pound payloads, 450-mile range, and runway-free VTOL operations.
- Kratos manufactures Chaparral in Sacramento, giving Elroy Air industrial scale without greenfield buildout.
- Elroy Air won FAA eIPP flights and U.S. Army contracts in 2026.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
401(k) Retirement Plan
401(k) Company Match
Paid Parental Leave
Unlimited Paid Time Off
Mental Health Support
Company Equity
Flexible Work Hours
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
-4%1 year growth
-4%2 year growth
-12%Elroy Air announced increased PIPE investments of $175 million. Elroy Air has increased the size of its previously announced private investment in public equity (PIPE) commitments to $175 million, with existing investors including Lockheed Martin Ventures and Inflection Point participating. The autonomous cargo aircraft developer said $75 million of the expanded funding has already been received ahead of the planned closing of its business combination with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. VII. Elroy Air said the additional capital will be used to accelerate production of its Chaparral autonomous heavy-cargo aircraft for commercial and defence customers. The company is developing the aircraft for logistics missions where conventional ground or fixed infrastructure may be unavailable or difficult to access. The expanded investment also deepens Elroy Air's relationship with Lockheed Martin. The two companies intend to collaborate on advanced autonomous systems and joint business development across commercial and defence markets. The financing announcement follows several developments involving the Chaparral programme. Elroy Air recently secured a multi-year US Army contract worth up to $46 million. The agreement is focused on increasing the aircraft's modular multi-mission payload capabilities and delivery systems for operations in contested and austere environments. The company has also completed autonomous and uncrewed Chaparral flights under the US Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. The flights were conducted in Louisiana with LIFTOFF Louisiana and Bristow Group and were intended to demonstrate autonomous cargo operations for potential commercial use across the Gulf Coast. Bristow has subsequently increased its early delivery reservations for Chaparral from five to 15 aircraft. The operator has also previously agreed to pre-order up to 100 Chaparral aircraft. Production is being handled by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, which is the aircraft's exclusive US manufacturer. Kratos is expanding its Sacramento, California facility, with the first production Chaparral aircraft planned for late 2026. Thomas Sleightholm Thomas is a content writer for eVTOL Insights, covering all aspects of the global Advanced Air Mobility ecosystem. Got a story for him? Please send an email to [email protected]
Elroy Air boosts funding to $175M, Lockheed backs it. Elroy Air expanded its private investment in public equity (PIPE) commitments to $175 million on September 24, 2026, according to a company press release, with existing backer Lockheed Martin Ventures adding to the round. The San Francisco company said $75 million of that total is already funded ahead of its planned Nasdaq listing via merger with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. VII (NASDAQ: IPXG), and the cash will go toward scaling production of its autonomous Chaparral cargo aircraft. Elroy Air builds the Chaparral, an uncrewed, hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft designed to carry more than 500 pounds of cargo up to 450 miles without runways or fixed airport infrastructure. The company announced a definitive business combination agreement with the SPAC then known as Columbus Circle Capital Corp. II in June 2026, a deal that has since been rebranded Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. VII and values Elroy Air at roughly $800 million pre-money, or close to $1 billion once the deal closes. That transaction originally came with more than $165 million in committed PIPE capital. The September 24 announcement upsizes that pool to $175 million, with Lockheed Martin Ventures - the venture arm of Lockheed Martin - returning as a lead investor alongside Inflection Point itself. The business combination is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. Lockheed Martin Ventures backed Elroy Air's SPAC deal when it was first announced in June, so the September round is a repeat, not a new relationship. Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures, tied the investment directly to military resupply needs: "Modern conflict increasingly depends on the ability to resupply forces quickly, without the fixed infrastructure that makes traditional logistics vulnerable." That framing matches Elroy Air's other recent milestone with the US Army. In August 2026, the company won a multi-year contract worth up to $46 million to adapt the Chaparral for contested-logistics missions, and in September it completed its first fully autonomous, no-pilot flights under an FAA pilot program in Louisiana. The PIPE upsize gives the company fresh capital to turn those defense and regulatory wins into actual production volume. Elroy Air CEO Dr. Andrew Clare said the funds are earmarked for exactly that: "With these expanded PIPE funds we will accelerate production to get Chaparral into the hands of commercial and defense partners at scale." Inflection Point chairman and CEO Michael Blitzer added that the larger commitment "reflects our confidence in Elroy's progress since our transaction announcement in June." Elroy Air has contracted Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to build the Chaparral at a facility in Sacramento, California, with the first production aircraft targeted for late 2026. Kratos already manufactures uncrewed aerial systems for the Pentagon, giving Elroy Air an established defense-industrial partner rather than a from-scratch manufacturing buildout. The Chaparral fits a fast-growing category of autonomous VTOL cargo aircraft aimed at both military resupply and commercial logistics - a segment PickDrones covers in its broader eVTOL and air-taxi guide, which explains how certification and funding paths differ across the sector's biggest players. The upsized round doesn't change any rules for hobbyist or Part 107 pilots, but it signals where capital is flowing inside the wider uncrewed-aircraft industry: toward heavy-lift, autonomous cargo drones built for defense logistics rather than consumer or inspection use. For pilots and operators eyeing commercial cargo or BVLOS work, Elroy Air's path - a defense contract, an FAA autonomy milestone, then a funding round to scale manufacturing - is becoming a template other heavy-lift startups are likely to follow through 2026 and into 2027.
Elroy Air has increased its PIPE investment commitments to $175 million, with participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures and Inflection Point. The company has already received $75 million in funding ahead of its business combination with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. VII. The autonomous heavy-cargo drone developer recently secured a multi-year US Army contract worth up to $46 million. Elroy Air also completed the first autonomous flights under the FAA's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program and expanded its partnership with Bristow Group, which now has reservations for 15 early delivery positions and a pre-order agreement for up to 100 Chaparral drones. The company plans to accelerate production of its Chaparral aircraft, which can carry over 500 pounds of cargo with a range of up to 450 miles. Kratos Defense will manufacture the aircraft at its Sacramento facility, with first production planned for late 2026.
Elroy Air awarded $46 million U.S. Army drone contract. Elroy Air just won a $46 million U.S. Army contract for autonomous cargo drones. The stock built to eventually represent that business barely moved. That gap between the news and the ticker is the whole story this week. A $46 million Army contract for autonomous cargo drones. Elroy Air, Inc., a developer of autonomous heavy-cargo drones for defense and logistics, announced on August 18 that it had been awarded a $46,058,871 firm-fixed-price contract with the U.S. Army for an autonomous, hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing uncrewed aircraft system built for modular multi-mission payload delivery. Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity, and the award number is W911QX-26-C-A016. Work will be performed in California with an estimated completion date in 2029. Roughly $5.1 million in fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation funds were obligated at signing, meaning the full $46 million isn't committed cash yet, it's the contract ceiling. The award builds on Army contracts Elroy Air has held for the past two years, and the company says the funding goes toward its Chaparral drone operating in contested, GPS-denied environments alongside troops, along with a mobile mission planner and cyber-protected communications links. Why the ticker you'd buy isn't really Elroy Air yet. Elroy Air doesn't have its own public stock. It's going public through a merger with Columbus Circle Capital Corp II (Nasdaq: CMII), a special purpose acquisition company, a blank-check shell that raised money in an IPO specifically to merge with an operating business later. Until that merger closes, CMII's price mostly reflects the cash sitting in its trust account, not Elroy Air's actual operations. That shows in the stock itself. CMII closed around $10.14 on the day of the Army contract news, inside a 52-week range of $9.76 to $10.22. That's the trust value doing what trust value does, holding steady, regardless of what Elroy Air's underlying business reports. Columbus Circle Capital Corp II raised $230 million in its February 2026 IPO and currently carries a market capitalization near $318 million, a figure that describes the SPAC shell, not Elroy Air. The merger terms: $800 million pre-money, just over $1 billion after close. Columbus Circle Capital Corp II confirmed the same Army contract in its own release on August 21, and used it to restate the terms of the pending deal. The business combination values Elroy Air at $800 million pre-money, with an enterprise value around $1.0 billion once the deal closes. More than $165 million in committed PIPE financing backs the transaction, with $65 million of that already funded. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is lined up as the U.S. manufacturing partner to build the Chaparral at commercial scale. Closing is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. Once it closes, the combined company renames to Inflection Point Acquisition Corp VII and trades under a new ticker, IPXG. What Elroy Air actually builds. The company's Chaparral aircraft is a hybrid-electric VTOL drone designed to carry heavy cargo into places conventional aircraft and ground vehicles struggle to reach: contested military zones, disaster response sites, and remote commercial delivery routes. The pitch to the Army is autonomy and modularity, one airframe reconfigured for different payloads and missions rather than a fleet of single-purpose vehicles. Merger close and what happens to the ticker. The real catalyst here isn't this contract on its own, it's whether the merger closes on schedule in Q4 2026 and whether CMII's price starts trading like Elroy Air's business instead of trust value once it does. Elroy Air's pattern of consecutive Army awards over the past two years suggests this contract likely won't be the last, which matters more once the stock can actually price that pipeline. Sources. Editorial disclosure. This article is based on primary disclosures from Elroy Air, Inc. and Columbus Circle Capital Corp II, published August 18 and August 21, 2026 respectively, along with SEC filings related to the pending business combination. The security discussed is Columbus Circle Capital Corp II (Nasdaq: CMII), which is expected to be renamed Inflection Point Acquisition Corp VII (Nasdaq: IPXG) upon closing. aktiego.com has not received any compensation from Elroy Air, Columbus Circle Capital Corp II, their management, investor relations representatives, or any third party. No staff member or principal of aktiego.com holds a position in this security at the time of publication. Elroy Air is not yet a publicly traded operating company. Investors in CMII today own shares of a SPAC shell holding IPO trust proceeds, plus contractual rights tied to the pending merger, not direct equity in Elroy Air's operations. The business combination has not closed, remains subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, and there is no guarantee it closes on the terms described or at all. The $46,058,871 contract figure is a ceiling value; only about $5.1 million was obligated at signing, and the balance depends on the government exercising future contract options. Elroy Air is a pre-revenue or early-revenue defense technology company; readers should not assume government contract awards translate to near-term profitability. This is a speculative investment carrying significant risk including potential total loss of capital. Coverage on aktiego.com is provided for informational and educational purposes only. aktiego.com is not a registered investment advisor. Nothing in this article constitutes financial, investment, or professional advice. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own due diligence and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For more information please see its full DISCLAIMER. More market insights on youtube. Watch its latest market briefings, CEO interviews and stock deep dives covering the companies and sectors AktieGo follow. Market Briefings 3x per week Stock Deep Dives In-depth analysis CEO Interviews Exclusive insights Emerging Sectors Mining · Tech · Energy · Biotech The AktieGo Brief The market moves fast. Its briefing keeps up. Curated updates on stock picks, company spotlights, and in-depth market analysis across mining, biotech, energy, crypto, and tech - delivered straight to your inbox. 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Elroy Air awarded $46 million contract with US military. Aug 25, 2026 at 7:49 AM Elroy Air has received a contract worth $46 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop an autonomous, hybrid-electric, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle system. The multi-year contract aims to expand the operational capabilities of the heavy cargo drone system Chaparral, enabling effective deployment in contested and challenging environments. The agreement builds on previous contracts with the U.S. military that were completed over the past two years. As part of the new project, the versatility of modular multi-purpose payloads and the mechanisms for payload release will be enhanced. Additionally, key technologies necessary for modern military operations will be developed. These include, among others, a mobile mission planner, cyber-protected communication links, navigation in GPS-denied environments, as well as increased autonomy and reliable operational capability under military conditions. Dr. Andrew Clare, CEO of Elroy Air, commented on the contract: "This contract underscores the critical role that heavy, autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL drones will play in modern defense operations. We are excited to expand our partnership with the U.S. military to provide rapid, autonomous cargo delivery capabilities that enhance operational efficiency and reduce risk to our troops." The U.S. Department of Defense has identified contested logistics technologies as one of six critical technology areas necessary to address the most pressing national security challenges facing the United States. The new contract aims to help develop solutions that address the challenges of interrupted or denied logistics to ensure seamless resupply and operational continuity in contested environments. The focus is on operational survivability and autonomous systems. The Chaparral from Elroy Air is an unmanned, autonomous VTOL aircraft capable of transporting over 227 kg of cargo and does not require runways for takeoff or landing. This enables resupply in difficult, degraded, and denied environments where traditional logistics networks fail. The hybrid-electric drive provides the reliability of electric propulsion systems and a range of up to 724 km without the need for charging infrastructure. This reduces the logistical burden required to maintain operations. The modular payload pod systems allow for rapid reconfiguration for different payload types, providing operational flexibility to U.S. military partners. This year, the company participated in T-REX, a test and evaluation event organized by the Department of Defense's Research and Technology division. Elroy Air plans to produce the Chaparral in the U.S. in collaboration with Kratos Defense & Security Solutions.