Animal Dynamics appoints Andrew Masters as Chief of the Office of Airworthiness

Image courtesy Animal Dynamics

Andrew Masters (above) will be responsible for the complete end-to-end airworthiness and safety at Animal Dynamics - from design through to certification and continuing airworthiness of its Unmanned Aerial Vehicle range, Stork.

Masters’ close working relationships with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Military Aviation Authority will be instrumental in helping Animal Dynamics to accelerate the commercial roll-out of Stork.

Designed to solve complex real-world challenges, it combines parafoil technology and bleeding edge AI software to create an entirely new aerial autonomy solution capable of carrying 135kg payloads up to 250 miles (or 400km).

Masters brings with him a wealth of experience and qualification as an accomplished Airworthiness & Safety Authority through initial, continued, and continuing airworthiness. A Chartered Engineer, with over 33 years’ experience in military and commercial aviation for global, FTSE/Fortune-listed corporations including the Royal Air Force, Airbus, Virgin Atlantic and Thales UK. Masters was instrumental in shaping and maintaining the design of many established commercial and military products and he was part of the team that delivered the certification of the Airbus A380.

Alex Caccia, CEO of Animal Dynamics, commented: “We are deeply committed to safety as a company, and we are very confident that Masters will help us maintain the high safety standards that we have always set out to achieve in everything that we do. He has very strong credentials in aviation safety leadership, and we are delighted to have him join us.”

Animal Dynamics prides itself on designing hyper-efficient systems inspired by the deep study of evolutionary biomechanics, attracting scientists including Professor of Biomechanics in the Zoology Department of Oxford University, Adrian Thomas, who is the Chief Science Officer at the company. Animal Dynamics has raised £20m from Venture Capitalists since it was founded in 2015.

“Animal Dynamics is at the cutting edge of innovation in the aviation world. I look forward to helping them create safe and airworthy bio-inspired autonomy solutions,” says Masters. “We have a brilliant opportunity to set the safety roadmap for the future of aviation, and I am excited to be working with colleagues, regulators, and partners as we grow the business.”

Outside of work, Masters works closely with the Scouting association and he is passionate about promoting innovation amongst engineers of the future, something that Animal Dynamics will benefit from as the company looks to inspire and attract future talent.

Animal Dynamics is an animal-inspired movement company that designs innovative, hyper-efficient autonomy solutions inspired by the application of evolutionary biomechanics. Specialising in aerial and underwater autonomy, it combines cutting-edge AI, bioengineering and robotic techniques to create entirely unique solutions that move effortlessly, manage the natural forces around them and minimise their footprint – just like nature.

Founded in 2015 as an Oxford University spin-out, Animal Dynamics is today building an ecosystem that leverages key industry partnerships across the globe to support the adoption of UAVs and raise the industry bar on safety. The company also offers a Stork product system, which provides a range of fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) designed to carry large payloads over long distances, addressing complex real-world challenges across multiple industries.