Ascent: Researching the Future of Human Flight
The Unmet Challenge of Personal Flight
Energy efficiency, human physiology, and the engineering gap
Historical Context
Human flight attempts date back to Abbas Ibn Firnas (875 CE) and Leonardo da Vinci's ornithopter designs (c. 1485). Modern aviation diverged from bio-inspired flight after the Wright Brothers (1903), optimizing for transportation rather than individual mobility.
Research Methodology
Our approach combines computational fluid dynamics, biomechanical analysis, and materials science to address fundamental constraints in personal flight systems.
Core Engineering Challenges
- Power-to-weight ratio: Human muscle output (~250W sustained) vs. bird efficiency (10-25W/kg)²
- Energy density: Current battery technology (250-300 Wh/kg) approaching viability threshold³
- Control complexity: Six degrees of freedom at low altitude with obstacle avoidance
- Safety systems: Failure modes at 10-100m altitude require novel approaches⁴
¹ Studied extensively in ornithological literature since Alexander (2002)
² Based on metabolic measurements from Pennycuick et al. (2013)
³ Tesla 4680 cells represent current state-of-art (2024)
⁴ Distinct from commercial aviation safety protocols
Research Significance
Commercial aviation optimized for hub-to-hub transport at 30,000+ feet. Personal flight represents a fundamentally different problem space: distributed takeoff/landing, low-altitude operation (10-500m), and intuitive human control interfaces. This unexplored domain requires novel approaches to propulsion, control theory, and safety systems.
Core Research Domains
Interdisciplinary approach to personal flight systems
Flight Dynamics
Modeling lift and drag at low Reynolds numbers
AERO.001- Computational fluid dynamics for flapping wing mechanisms
- Vortex shedding and wake interaction models
- Ground effect characterization at 1-10m altitude
- Stability analysis for morphing wing configurations
Energy Systems
Lightweight power storage and management
POWER.002- Hybrid battery-supercapacitor architectures
- Power density optimization (target: >1kW/kg)
- Regenerative descent energy recovery
- Thermal management for high-discharge rates
Bio-Inspired Mechanics
Biomimetic propulsion and control surfaces
BIO.003- Avian wing kinematics analysis
- Flexible membrane wing structures
- Active camber control mechanisms
- Distributed propulsion integration
Human Factors
Intuitive control and safety systems
HCI.004- Vestibular-compatible control mapping
- Haptic feedback for airflow sensing
- Emergency descent algorithms
- Cognitive load optimization
Current Projects
Open-source implementations advancing personal flight research
Eclipse Flight Dynamics Simulator
Six degree-of-freedom simulation for hybrid VTOL aircraft
A comprehensive flight dynamics simulator specifically designed for hybrid vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, implementing advanced computational modeling of complex flight dynamics with quaternion-based attitude control.
Key Features
- Quaternion-based attitude dynamics with Newton-Euler equations
- Multi-mode flight control systems with cascaded PID loops
- Precise aerodynamic modeling with finite-wing corrections
- Robust numerical integration using RK4 method
- Continuous stall modeling preventing numerical discontinuities
Validation Metrics
Publications & Research Logs
Technical reports and progress updates
Open Research Philosophy
Project Ascent is committed to open science. All research outputs, including design documents, simulations, and experimental data will be published openly. We're currently in the initial research and design phase, establishing the theoretical framework for personal flight systems.
Future publications will cover aerodynamic modeling, energy system analysis, control theory, and safety systems. Check back for updates as the research progresses.
Open Flight Research, Built in Public
Independent research advancing next-generation flight dynamics and intelligent systems
Why It Matters
Open Science
All of our work—from design docs to simulation code—is published openly. Students, researchers, and engineers can build on our work without institutional barriers or expensive proprietary tools.
Technological Impact
Our methods bridge computational physics, control theory, and biomimetic design. These advances matter not just for personal flight, but also robotics, aerospace, and next-gen simulation frameworks.
Education & Access
By keeping Eclipse and related projects open-source, we give anyone the ability to learn, test, and innovate with the same tools normally locked behind aerospace labs.
Current Work
Eclipse Flight Dynamics Engine
Active DevelopmentA Rust-based six-degree-of-freedom simulator with quaternion mathematics, validated for numerical stability over long runs.
- Advanced Aerodynamics — Finite-wing corrections, stall models, and propeller disk simulations
- Control Systems — Robust PID implementations, hover stability, and research into AI-assisted controllers
- Physical Validation — Transitioning from pure simulation to hardware-in-the-loop testing
Funding Priorities
We design for failure. Research only advances when there's room to experiment, break things, and rebuild. Sustainable funding provides that margin—turning ambitious ideas into repeatable progress.
Compute & Infrastructure
High-performance simulation clusters and distributed validation environments, enabling exploration of complex flight dynamics models at scale.
Research Bandwidth
Sustained engineering and research time, giving us the capacity to iterate, test, fail, and return stronger—the way real breakthroughs happen.
Prototyping & Validation
From 3D printed test airframes to sensor-driven wind tunnel studies, funding accelerates the transition from theory to hardware.
Our work scales with support. Small sponsorships sustain core development. Major grants unlock physical prototypes and advanced research. Every level of funding directly accelerates open science.
How to Support
"TheAscentProject is committed to open, independent research in flight dynamics and intelligent systems. By supporting this work, you're helping keep fundamental science accessible, transparent, and moving forward."
About the Project
An open research initiative
Project Ascent is an independent research initiative exploring the fundamental challenges of personal flight. We're at the very beginning of this journey, focused on understanding the physics, engineering constraints, and safety requirements that will shape the future of low-altitude human flight.
This is not a company or startup—it's a long-term research project driven by curiosity and the belief that personal flight represents an important frontier in human mobility. As the project develops, we'll share findings, designs, and code openly to advance the field.
Vision
Conceptual visualization of low-altitude personal flight systems
Our long-term objective is to make bird-like flight technically feasible, open-source, and accessible. Not for transportation, but for exploration and human experience.
We envision a future where individuals can experience low-altitude flight (10-500m) with the same intuitive control that birds possess. This requires solving fundamental problems in energy storage, aerodynamics, and human-machine interfaces.
Success means creating open hardware and software specifications that enable distributed manufacturing and continuous improvement by the global community. The technology should be as accessible as a bicycle, as safe as modern aviation, and as transformative as the internet.