Personal Air Vehicle Research Project, Phase I

The innovation is a low aspect ratio all-lifting configuration for personal air vehicles. This configuration uses an architecture fundamentally different from conventional aircraft to achieve large reductions in cost and improvements in safety. The concept features an integrated all-lifting body that performs the functions of the wing, tail and fuselage of a conventional light airplane with a single, simple structure. The integrated lifting body has an aspect ratio between approximately 1.0 and 2.5, and is deep enough to contain the crew and payload without a conventional fuselage. A further innovation is the use of a faceted shape composed of flat panels. The faceting greatly simplifies the manufacture of the major parts of the airframe, further reducing cost.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.