Christopher Poole Email & Phone Number

Poway, Ca, Us

• Technical design authority responsible for a large engineering team and the overall program success of an experimental remotely piloted aircraft prototype.• Led multidisciplinary teams through entire aircraft development process, directing work in across all major subsystems: o Airframe & Manufacturing, Aircraft Loads, Avionics, Aircraft Performance, Autopilot & Flight Controls, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Cost Modeling, Systems Engineering, Propulsion & Fuel, Mechanisms & Landing Gear, Systems Integration, and Testing, Evaluation & Airworthiness.• Established roles and responsibilities, team infrastructures, and program-specific processes and practices to allow design and construction of a complete aircraft system to meet unusual customer requirements on a highly constrained budget and timeline.• Used first-principles knowledge of aircraft design to provide technical guidance and making critical decisions.• Focused on enabling teams to tackle difficult engineering problems without over-constraining possibilities – Where necessary, arbitrated and resolved conflicts.• Appropriately managed and tracked risks. Developed processes and workflows allowing the program to assume higher-than-usual risk levels without compromising program success.• Maintained design flexibility to support future rapid pivots to derived vehicle solutions driven by evolving requirements.• Managed requirements development, tracing, and verification and validation efforts.• Supported airworthiness certification process, including collaboratively tailoring requirements with the customer to meet their somewhat non-conventional use case.• Served as primary engineering contact with customer, maintaining continuous dialogue with internal and external program management.• Held overall responsibility for ensuring requirements were met on-time and within budget, while maximizing key technical performance metrics and balancing with long term company strategic goals.

Poway, Ca, Us

• Primary designer in multi-part experimental program developing aerial recovery technologies for unmanned vehicles.• Designed, constructed, and tested airborne experimental test rigs, collecting, and analyzed data to iterate approach for additional studies.• Designed and constructed sub-scale, unmanned demonstrator vehicles to validated concept, including all sizing, structural design, CAD, lamination, assembly, integration, autopilot tuning, and flight test planning and execution.

Poway, Ca, Us

• Program manager for $30M portfolio of development programs. These include programs to extend the viability of existing aircraft product lines via communications network improvements, to integrate and fly customer payloads, and Internal Research and Development (IRAD) efforts developing a flying prototype to test high-lift devices technologies.• Responsible for directing overall program efforts, including strategic planning, budget, schedule creation and management, logistics, cost-performance analysis, customer interfacing, and vendor relations.• Followed Earned Value Management System (EVMS) practices, creating and maintaining Integrated Master Schedules (IMS) and time-phasing budgets to guide execution and provide actionable updates to management and customers.• Coordinated and won proposals for future contracts, providing technical basis of estimates, internal subject matter expert produced whitepapers, and overall program plans.• Ensured compliance with export regulations and internal processes, driving improvements to support IRAD activities, particularly elevated-risk flight testing. • Provided strategic vision to guide technical roadmap and develop new products, while spearheading related marketing demonstrations to capture new business and expand market footprint.

Poway, Ca, Us

• Responsible for both the technical solution and program performance of the Mojave Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) prototype aircraft system.• Performed additional program management roles - Managed project budget, schedule, and scope for 100+ head team, setting goals and communicating to executives.• Served as overarching team lead to plan, design, and build, as well as execute simulator, ground, and flight testing.• Coordinated teams in Airframe & Manufacturing, Aircraft Loads, Avionics, Aircraft Performance, Autopilot & Flight Controls, CFD, Cost Modeling, Systems Engineering, Propulsion & Fuel, Mechanisms & Landing Gear, Systems Integration, and Testing, Eval & Airworthiness. • Directed analysis and development of innovative features including high-lift devices.• Interfaced with government flight test facilities to coordinate test and qualification activities and safety reviews.• Created marketing concepts, assessed strategic approaches and system integration into company ecosystem.• Developed MATLAB and Excel prediction tools to leverage CFD results into final design decisions.• Worked with simulator teams to complete and integrate a Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) simulator, including full aircraft flight dynamics simulation, to be used in software testing, mission training, and flight test planning.• Design-for-operability to provide long-term reliability as a testbed, flight demonstrator, and payload-integration platform.• Led quick-turn design, build, instrumentation and testing of a self-propelled full-scale aerodynamic mockup, including test execution and data analysis.

• Invented, designed, tested, manufactured, and marketed a first-of-its-kind Roof Top Hammock Stand.• Completed CAD modeling, load simulation, and rapid prototyping of a high-stress collapsible aluminum structure.• Interfaced with suppliers, manufactures, and distributors to expand the business on a tight schedule and budget.• Evaluated feedback from user experiences, refined requirements, then designed, built, tested, and perfected solutions from back-of-the-napkin through production.

Poway, Ca, Us

• Served as test director for flight tests of experimental Predator unmanned aircraft systems. Over the full life cycle of the aircraft, created and executed test plans for both the overall vehicle and a wide range of subsystems.• Performed high-risk flight tests involving stability and controls and envelope expansion, including real-time tuning of flight and propulsion control systems. Refined requirements based on results.• Directed design, integration, and testing of new systems which allowed the aircraft to set a company endurance record.• Quickly gained familiarity with varied subsystems and interfaced with subject matter experts and test personnel.• Planned flight, ground, and simulator test programs and coordinated diverse teams of engineers, software developers, pilots, test ranges, and customers to achieve goals safely and efficiently.• Coded MATLAB & Excel data reduction tools for performance analysis, simulation, and prediction.

• Led the development and testing of dynamically/aerodynamically scaled unmanned aerial vehicle design and data analysis, implementing fully autonomous flight testing procedures with Piccolo autopilot.• Tested, analyzed, and improved structural elements and construction procedures and successfully developed analysis tools for computational system identification to match the performance, stability and control parameters of the full scale aircraft, including a mathematical vehicle model with simulated maneuver prediction capabilities.• Performed comparative flight testing of full-size aircraft with custom wireless wing-mounted air data boom.• Developed, constructed, and tested variable angle of attack pressure measurement wing and glove as a test bed for zero net mass flux active flow control for separation prevention. Wrote operational specifications and training plans.• Complete SolidWorks modeling for all projects above, as well as a scaled 200 lb. composite Cirrus SR-22.• Used rapid prototyping 3D printing techniques to produce wind tunnel models and parts on quick, several day timeline. • Coordinated AMA waivers, FAA COA registration, FCC up/downlink frequency control and test documentation.• Mentored design of award-winning joined wing aircraft, advancing planform efficiency and structural weight reduction.

Tucson, Arizona, Us

• Designed dynamically scaled small UAV aero-mechanical system, manufacturing, performed flight test planning, piloting and analysis, focusing on instrumentation and analysis for performance measurement and modeling (Matlab).• Executed full-size flight testing of motor-glider using custom instrumentation and Matlab data reduction methods.• Developed engineering test procedures and documentation for flight testing and simulation with Piccolo autopilot.• Performed experimental active flow control instrumented wing glove design and construction for wind tunnel and free flight testing.• Worked with team on SolidWorks modeling and design of scaled 200 lb. composite UAV, followed by mechanical testing and flight test operations. Managing project time frames, FAA aircraft COA certification and ITAR concerns.

• Led hands-on design and complete composite fabrication of an innovative 30lb. UAV with integrated vision recognition cameras and computational payload for the 2011 AUVSI Student UAV Competition (System in top ten of 36).• Conducted aerodynamic analysis and optimization, trade studies, size/design/layout of all components and structures (Excel, XFoil, AVL), SolidWorks drawings, tooling design/manufacturing, material selection, electric power plant selection.• Coordinated team members and sponsors to create a fully functional and autonomous vehicle in only 9 months. Training and flight operations instruction of new team for second competition, autonomous takeoff and landing.• Led flight testing for performance verification and implementation of Piccolo autopilot and machine vision payload, with operational procedures and flight test analysis. (Best Engineering Analysis: U of A College of Engineering Design Day 2011).

• Completed initial manufacturing runs for novel unmanned systems, including piloting during flight testing via airborne piggy back launch. Evaluated and improved flight safety procedures and did troubleshooting and failure analysis.• Constructed flight-ready prototypes of new large UAV on accelerated schedule for display at AUVSI conference. Processes included cutting and finishing CNC molds, various composite layup techniques, and vacuum molding.• Tested/tuned gasoline/glow engines (with experimental material components) and electric power systems.

• Constructed and piloted large remote helicopter with purpose-designed camera system and stabilization. Successfully captured a layered photographic map of an archeological site in mountainous terrain inaccessible by other means.

• Programmed and operated CNC milling machines to manufacture parts/tooling. Performed rapid prototyping including milling, injection molding of plastics, and 3D printing.• Improved reliability and efficiency of CNC prototype processes in a rapid prototyping environment.

Bachelor Of Science, Aerospace Engineering

Master Of Science (M.S.), Fluid Dynamics