Engineering

Arrow builds aircraft the way open source software is built: distributed teams, shared repositories, and a contribution workflow anyone can join. Here's how that looks in practice.

Software & Tools

Everything Arrow uses is open source or has a free tier. Files live on GitHub so anyone can open, fork, and improve them. You don't need an expensive setup to get started.

CAD

Fusion 360 or OnShape — both have free tiers for personal and open source use. Hardware designs are committed to GitHub the same way code is. You can open any Arrow design, make changes, and submit a pull request.

CAD files live on GitHub — open, easy to fork, and improvable by anyone

Electronics

KiCad for circuit board design. PlatformIO for firmware. Both are fully open source, and all board files and firmware live on GitHub alongside the rest of the hardware.

All Arrow PCB work uses KiCad — open source and GitHub-native

Simulation

Before anything gets built, it gets simulated:

• Fusion 360 FEA — structural analysis
• XFLR5 — aerodynamics
• Custom Python scripts — flight dynamics

Simulation catches problems before they become expensive fabrication mistakes

Collaboration

Tool	What it's for
GitHub	Code, hardware designs, issues, pull requests
Discord	Daily chat, meetings, design reviews
DAO Forum	Long-form discussion, governance, proposals
Spatial / VR tools	Real-time 3D design reviews

Testing

We test everything before it flies.

Simulation → Bench testing → Ground testing → Flight testing

Each stage catches a different class of problem. Something that would take days to debug on the flight line often shows up in twenty minutes of simulation. Arrow moves fast — but methodically.

Flight tests are live-streamed when possible. The whole community watches and learns together. It's one of the best ways to understand what Arrow is actually building, and to celebrate what works.

Flight tests are streamed live when possible — the whole community tunes in

Building Hardware

Prototype Builds

When a design is ready, we coordinate a build. Sometimes that means an in-person meetup — contributors traveling to put their hands on hardware together. Sometimes it's distributed: multiple people building the same design in their own workshops and streaming it simultaneously.

Builds happen in person or distributed — sometimes both at the same time

Build It Yourself

You can manufacture any Arrow design locally. The instructions and bill of materials are in the docs — build it, document your results, and share what you learn. Improvements flow back via pull requests, the same as any other contribution.

This is how Arrow scales hardware without owning a factory. Every local build makes the next one easier for everyone.

See the Project Quiver docs for assembly guides and sourcing information.