AIRCRAFT DESIGN & CAD

Heavy-lift Drone

Course: MECH 230 · Bucknell University
August 2026 – Present

I’m building a heavy-lift aircraft for my MECH 230 class at Bucknell. The work centers on SolidWorks design and a bill of materials, with payload and structural efficiency guiding the design. We’ve received our motors, propellers, ESC/gyro, transmitter, etc., and are now working on the wings of the drone and how these components will attach together.

SOLIDWORKSAircraft DesignBOM

First heavy-lift drone base CAD design with four mounting blocks and small central cutouts — First design — the initial base layout with four mounting blocks and small central cutouts.

Latest heavy-lift drone base CAD design with larger central cutouts and revised mounting geometry — Latest design — revised mounting geometry and larger central cutouts, developed with payload and structural efficiency in mind.

Engineering details

Design objective: maximize payload and structural efficiency
Design: aircraft CAD models developed in SolidWorks
Planning: bill of materials