Kevin Thomas Fernandez profile picture

Namaskara [Greetings In My Native Language], I'm

Kevin Thomas Fernandez

M.S. Aerospace Engineering, B.E. Mechanical Engineering

My LinkedIn profile My Github profile
Flight statusIn process
BangaloreWhere it started
In process: flying and testing at Zipline
San FranciscoWhere I am headed

Ever since I was a kid, I have wanted to build systems: to think in systems, break them into subsystems, and integrate them until they fly. I wanted to explore the world and solve problems others thought were beyond reach. I grew up looking up to Abdul Kalam and Vikram Sarabhai, and I have always been drawn to rebels who built their own way: Richard Feynman in science, and Bob Dylan, the Beatles and Steve Jobs in everything else. A rebel at heart, an underdog who loves to compete.

Today I fly autonomous aircraft at Zipline and test them for a fleet that already flies across the US, works with the FAA as its approvals keep expanding, and will follow Zipline wherever it grows around the world. My flight test validates new software, hardware and control logic across the four areas that decide whether an aircraft is ready: avionics, propulsion, structures and handling qualities. More than 24,000 flights on Group 3 sUAS, and every one of them a test point.

Behind the flying: airworthiness risk models that earned validation interest from the FAA, MAAP and NAVAIR. Ultrasonic anti icing research at Virginia Tech, with time in the wind tunnel. Work at the Indian Institute of Science, home to the legacy of people I admire. Mechanical design proven with CAD, FEM and experimental validation, through both my undergrad and grad work.

Along the way I travel, meet people across the industry, and network as much as I can. I like belonging to a community that builds this together.

KEVIN THOMAS FERNANDEZ / FLIGHT TEST ENGINEER
T+00:00:00
PHASE 01 / 06

Mission Planning

Objectives defined. Test cards written. Corridors cleared.

SCROLL TO BEGIN CAMPAIGN ▾
3D MODEL: UAV VTOL FIXEDWING WITH TILT SYSTEM

Namaskara [greetings in my native language], I’m

Kevin Thomas
Fernandez

FLIGHT TEST ENGINEER · M.S. AEROSPACE ENGINEERING · B.E. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

I build technology that works beautifully and earns its place in the real world.

Kevin Thomas Fernandez

Browse My Recent

Work Experience

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Zipline headquarters

Zipline

Flight Test Operator and Controller (RPIC), Platform 2, validating new software, hardware and control logic

Project 1

QUADRA

Airworthiness Analyst and Founding Engineer, UAV ground risk platform validated with MAAP, NAVAIR and the VT Airworthiness Center

Advanced Aircraft Anti icing techniques

Graduate Research Assistant, ultrasonic PZT atomization and supercooled droplet dynamics

Project 1

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Supported 200+ students across computational methods, structures, and fluids labs

Project 2

Stability Wind Tunnel

Aerospace Research Assistant, NASA BeVERLI high lift research

UAV Flight Operations

UAV

Flight Operations & Risk Assessment

Project 2

Bangalore Aircraft Industries Private Limited

Design Engineer Intern, wing spar validation with MSC Nastran/Patran

Non Linear Multifunctional Composites Lab

Non Linear Multifunctional Composites Lab

Aerospace Design Engineer Intern

Also: Graduate Teaching Assistant, Chemistry, Virginia Tech (Jan to May 2023), lab safety, data analysis guidance and written feedback. Details

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Browse My

Campaign Projects

Personal campaigns I run on my own time

Engineering campaigns

ButterflyRatio: parsing the Part 108 regulations

ButterflyRatio: parsing the Part 108 regulations

Guide

Building a flight test campaign

My own systems engineering campaign, built on my own time to think through how a test program comes together and to study different approaches.

Tool

UAS Fleet Manager

A working tracker for tasks, inspections and a release check, built from public FAA guidance on inspection intervals and functional checks. Sample data, runs in your browser.

Psychology campaigns

Unloop

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Browse My Recent

Projects

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Project 2 Pressure contour for blended wing Tri-copter

VTOL Tri Copter Analysis (2020)

Blended wing tri copter, 4.5 N drag at 10 m/s, validated under 100 N load

U-Bracket Stress Analysis

U Bracket for UAV Wing Attachment (2025)

Parametric 7075 T6 bracket for a 55 lb UAV, 31.6 MPa peak stress, first mode ~1684 Hz

Battery Mounting Design for Drones (2025)

Toolless slide in, snap lock quick swap system for 5" FPV quads, swaps in under 10 s

Project 1 Project 1

Proper Orthogonal Decomposition and Near Field Noise Analysis using Welch's Method for PSD Estimation

Jet flow rebuilt from 20 POD modes retaining >90% energy, trailing edge confirmed dominant noise source

Project 2

Computational fluid analysis for flow in a square lid driven cavity

2nd order Navier Stokes solver in Python, MMS verified against ANSYS Fluent

PCB Enclosure Design (2026)

Protective housing with thermal management and serviceability built in

Project 1

Shock Impact Behavior of Metals

LAMMPS molecular dynamics, shock response of FCC metals at 5 to 20 Å/ps

Project 1

A Study of Navier Stokes Solver Capabilities and Trade offs in Aerodynamic Analysis with NACA 4512 Airfoil

Project 2

Feasibility Study for Deployable Solar Sails on 2U CubeSats for Interplanetary Science Missions

Project 1

Assembly Line Balancing with Real Time Industrial Data (2021)

47 to 66% lead time efficiency gains on tractor assembly lines via heuristic rebalancing

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Browse My

Highlights

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Explore My

Research & Academic Work

Published / Academic Work

Google Scholar

Indexed publications and citation history
Profile Virginia Tech and related engineering work

Master's Thesis

M.S., Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Virginia Tech
An Advanced Aircraft Deicing Analysis: Supercooled Liquid Dynamics under Ultrasonic Frequency and Surface Roughness Effects

Affiliation/Membership

CREATe center

CREATe

Center for Research and Engineering in Aero/Hydrodynamic Technologies (CREATe)
Virginia Tech
2023 to 2025

Society of Flight Test Engineers

Society of Flight Test Engineers

Member, eVTOL committee
Since January 2026

• Monthly paper selection and committee meetings.
• Learning cutting edge flight test methods from experienced practitioners.
• Discussing the latest technologies with peers across the field.

AUVSI

Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI)

Ridge and Valley chapter and California chapter
Member since March 2025
Community Volunteer, California chapter (2026)

Experimental Aircraft Association

Experimental Aircraft Association Inc.

Member since April 2026

Conferences & Presentations

AUVSI XPONENTIAL

Houston, TX
2025
Virginia Tech Airworthiness Center, airworthiness analyst, with MAAP and VTIP

APS Division of Fluid Dynamics

American Physical Society, Division of Fluid Dynamics
76th and 77th Annual Meeting
Washington, DC (2023), Salt Lake City, UT (2024)
An Advanced Aircraft Deicing Analysis: Supercooled Liquid Dynamics under Ultrasonic Frequency and Surface Roughness Effects

Future of Flight

Game Changer Week
Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (2024)
UAV ground risk analysis solution presentation

ASME SMASIS 2025

ASME 2025 Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS 2025)
Track: SYMP 3, Modeling, Simulation and Control of Adaptive Systems
Atomization of Supercooled Water Droplets Using High Frequency Structural Excitations via Piezoceramic Transducers

77th International Astronautical Congress

Antalya, Türkiye
5 to 9 October 2026
Accepted for presentation
Aircraft Anti Icing Analysis: Water Droplet Dynamics Under High Frequency Atomization and Superhydrophobic Effects

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Recognitions and

Awards

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QUADRA ground risk platform
2025 · Award

VIPC Commonwealth Commercialization Fund

Higher education award for the development of QUADRA.

CREATe poster competition first place
2024 · First place

CREATe Poster Competition

Supercooled droplet research, Virginia Tech.

FAA
Recognition

FAA Workforce Development grant proposal

QUADRA included in a proposal for BVLOS operator training curriculum.

AOE
2025 · Feature

Virginia Tech AOE Spotlight

Featured by the Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering.

Read the feature
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Music Production

Original Works under MANGA

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No Boundaries Manga
No Boundaries
War Ground Manga
War Ground
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Get in Touch

Contact Me