MikeWinn

DroneDeploy
715BryantSt,Suite201
SanFrancisco,CA94107

DearSirorMa'am:

IamrecommendingMathewHartbasedontheworkheperformedasaDroneEngineerfor
DroneDeploy.IwasMr.Hart'simmediatesupervisorforsevenmonthsatDroneDeployduring
whichtimehemanagedafleetofsmallunmannedaircraft,integratedautopilotsand
experimentalavionics,andservedastheprimarytestpilot.

DroneDeployisasoftwaredevelopmentcompanydesigningcloudbasedgroundcontrol
softwareforUAVs.Mr.Hart'sprimaryjobdutywastobuild,maintain,andoperateafleetof
UAVstotestsoftwareindevelopment.Mr.Harthandledawiderangeofaircraftincludinga
10footwingspanPenguinBfromUAVFactory,asimilarlysizedMugin50ccgasaircraft,a
halfdozenflyingwings(6footaircraft),andvariousquadandhexacopters.Mr.Hartinstalled
autopilotsinthesevehiclesandperformedallthenecessarysetup,calibrationandcheckoutof
theinstrumentsandaircraftsystemstoensuresafeautonomoustestflights.

Mr.Hartwasquicktomakeimprovementstothebasicdesignofaircraft,including
reinforcementstoenginemounts,pitottubes,andlandingskidstoimproverobustnessand
reducemaintenancetime.Hewasalwayscarefultointegrateavionicsinasafemanner,such
asidentifyingEMIfromapowerregulatorthatdisruptedGPSreceptionbeforethevehiclewas
flowninthatconfiguration.Additionally,Mr.Hartoptimizedtheaerodynamicdesignoftheflying
wing,it'spowersystem,motor,propellerandweightinordertoimproveenduranceandrangeto
2hoursand100kmgreatlyimprovingtheyieldoftestflights.Healsodesignedapower
distributionsystemthatwouldrunallonboardelectronicsfromonebattery,eliminatingtheneed
foradditionalbatteries.Althoughnoaircrafteverlandedinwater,flightsmademilesawayfrom
shorepromptedMr.Harttowaterproofthemajorityoftheonboardelectronics.Severalflights
madeinmoderaterainwereallsuccessful.

Duringearlyphases,Mr.Hartgreatlyimprovedtelemetryrangebydesigningamicrocontrolled
autotrackinggroundstationantennacoupledwithmorepowerfuldiversityradios.Healso
designedandbuiltamechanismtopointaDSLRcameraforextendingthecoverageofground
surveysandaddedalongrangeFPVsystemtomakedramaticdemonstrationflights.

Asapilot,Mr.Hartdemonstratedskillswithavarietyofaircraftandconditions.Thedecisionto
flyatnight,intherain,orinhighwindswasalwaysmadewithsafetyinmind.Mr.Hartlanded
aircraftsufferingfrommotorfailures,speedcontrollerfailures,R/Cradiofailures,autopilot
failures,andoffnominalflightconditionssuchasseverewinds,turbulenceandflatspins.Short
orroughfieldswithobstructionswereneveraproblemforsmallaircraft.Mr.Hartalsomadekey
recommendationsforimprovementstoafieldforflyinglargegasaircraft.Heperformed
preflightchecksfanatically,preventingaccidentswhenhefoundbrokencontrollinkagesor
motormounts.

Mr.Hartwouldbeanassettoanygroupplanningtooperateunmannedaircraft.Hisdiverseset
ofskillswithmaterialsandelectronicscoupledwithhisextensiveflyingexperienceensuredsafe
flightoperationsandvaluabletestflights.

Sincerely,

MikeWinn