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DTSTART:20180628T173000
LOCATION:Braamfontein Campus East Senate Room, 2nd Floor, Solomon Mahlangu House
DESCRIPTION:The story of how Wits alumnus Matthew Whalley founded an innovative South African drone company.Whalley, CEO of Passerine Aircraft Corporation, will be presenting a talk on his exciting journey starting a unique South African drone manufacturing company.
<br />Since graduating from Wits University with BSc (Aeronautical Engineering) and MSc (Engineering) (2015) degrees, Whalley founded Passerine Aircraft. In this talk he will share how funding through Y Combinator - a new model for funding early stage startups – helped the company to lift off, and most importantly, how he and his team of aviation experts are using advances in control systems and lessons from nature to create a jumping aircraft.
<br />The Passerine Aircraft drones’ design is unique, with legs that propel the design into the air-modelled off the flight of a bird.
<br />
<br />Interview
<br />Wits Associate Lecturer in Aeronautical Engineering, Jyotika Singh, spoke to the 27-year-old Whalley about his journey:
<br />JS: Why did you choose Wits for both degrees?
<br />MW: Both my parents went to Wits and it was the only university offering Aeronautical Engineering as an undergraduate degree.
<br />JS: Who are the people that inspire you the most and why?
<br />MW: Kelly Johnson and Burt Rutan for not following convention in design, and my dad for his approach to solving problems. I also have a huge amount of respect for Nelson Mandela and people who are doing more than earning a living and are making the world a better place.
<br />JS: What are your favourite aircraft?
<br />The Spitfire Mk-IIb and the YF-12 (weaponised SR-71 Blackbird).
<br />JS: When did you start your company,&nbsp;Passerine Aircraft?
<br />MW: In October 2017.
<br />JS: How did you come up with the name “Passerine” Aircraft?
<br />MW:&nbsp;From birds. Perching birds.
<br />JS: Where did you find inspiration for your company?
<br />MW: Initially from partaking in the&nbsp;Flying Donkey Challenge&nbsp;at Wits. I saw that there was a need for a drone that wasn’t too big and was able to carry cargo, be able to do missions and be as easy to use as a quadcopter.
<br />JS: What is novel about your aircraft?
<br />MW: It has legs, a blown wing, ducted fans, powered deep stall landing and it is designed to carry a large tailored payload fraction on a small planform.
<br />JS: What was your proudest moment?
<br />MW: Getting into Y Combinator.
<br />JS: Where do you see the company in the next 5 years?
<br />MW: We want to be selling three types of drones into Africa, Europe and America and make a multi-million dollar turnover.
<br />JS: What is your advice to aspiring aeronautical engineers?
<br />MW: You have to be passionate about aircraft and make sure that you read up about what has been done already.
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:<strong>The story of how Wits alumnus Matthew Whalley founded an innovative South African drone company.</strong><p>Whalley, CEO of <a href="https://passerineaircraft.com/">Passerine Aircraft Corporation</a>, will be presenting a talk on his exciting journey starting a unique South African drone manufacturing company.</p>
<br /><p>Since graduating from Wits University with BSc (Aeronautical Engineering) and MSc (Engineering) (2015) degrees, Whalley founded Passerine Aircraft. In this talk he will share how funding through Y Combinator - a new model for funding early stage startups – helped the company to lift off, and most importantly, how he and his team of aviation experts are using advances in control systems and lessons from nature to create a jumping aircraft.</p>
<br /><p>The Passerine Aircraft drones’ design is unique, with legs that propel the design into the air-modelled off the flight of a bird.</p>
<br /><p style="text-align: center;"></p>
<br /><h3>Interview</h3>
<br /><p><em>Wits Associate Lecturer in Aeronautical Engineering, Jyotika Singh, spoke to the 27-year-old Whalley about his journey:</em></p>
<br /><p><strong>JS: Why did you choose Wits for both degrees?</strong></p>
<br /><p>MW: Both my parents went to Wits and it was the only university offering Aeronautical Engineering as an undergraduate degree.</p>
<br /><p><strong>JS: Who are the people that inspire you the most and why?</strong></p>
<br /><p>MW: Kelly Johnson and Burt Rutan for not following convention in design, and my dad for his approach to solving problems. I also have a huge amount of respect for Nelson Mandela and people who are doing more than earning a living and are making the world a better place.</p>
<br /><p><strong>JS: What are your favourite aircraft?</strong></p>
<br /><p>The Spitfire Mk-IIb and the YF-12 (weaponised SR-71 Blackbird).</p>
<br /><p><strong>JS: When did you start your company,&nbsp;<em>Passerine Aircraft</em>?</strong></p>
<br /><p>MW: In October 2017.</p>
<br /><p><strong>JS: How did you come up with the name “Passerine” Aircraft?</strong></p>
<br /><p>MW:&nbsp;From birds. Perching birds.</p>
<br /><p><strong>JS: Where did you find inspiration for your company?</strong></p>
<br /><p>MW: Initially from partaking in the&nbsp;<em>Flying Donkey Challenge&nbsp;</em>at Wits. I saw that there was a need for a drone that wasn’t too big and was able to carry cargo, be able to do missions and be as easy to use as a quadcopter.</p>
<br /><p><strong>JS: What is novel about your aircraft?</strong></p>
<br /><p>MW: It has legs, a blown wing, ducted fans, powered deep stall landing and it is designed to carry a large tailored payload fraction on a small planform.</p>
<br /><p><strong>JS: What was your proudest moment?</strong></p>
<br /><p>MW: Getting into Y Combinator.</p>
<br /><p><strong>JS: Where do you see the company in the next 5 years?</strong></p>
<br /><p>MW: We want to be selling three types of drones into Africa, Europe and America and make a multi-million dollar turnover.</p>
<br /><p><strong>JS: What is your advice to aspiring aeronautical engineers?</strong></p>
<br /><p>MW: You have to be passionate about aircraft and make sure that you read up about what has been done already.</p>
SUMMARY:Jumping into the future
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