OUR MISSION
“The people doing this job deserve better than luck.
We are building the platforms that make that possible.”
Aerospace technology has historically served those who could afford it — governments, militaries, large commercial operators. The communities that need it most have benefited least. The fire burning through a remote mountain range. The flood-cut village waiting for medicine. The search area too large and too dangerous for the resources available. The child in a rural school with no access to hands-on science.
These are not niche problems. They are the defining challenges of our time. And they are solvable with the technology that already exists — if the will exists to apply it.
That is what gets us out of bed. Not the technology for its own sake. The problem it solves.
THIS IS THE LINE WE DO NOT CROSS. EVER.
DECLARATION
BIG-G Aerospace develops exclusively for civilian humanitarian purposes. We do not develop, license, or support military applications, weapons integration, or surveillance capabilities for any platform or technology we produce. This declaration is permanent.
This is not a commercial constraint. It is who we are. The communities we exist to serve cannot be simultaneously the communities we put at risk. The purpose of the work demands the integrity of the declaration. They are inseparable.
WHO IS BIG-G AEROSPACE
Gert — Founder, BIG-G Aerospace
Gert is a solo aerospace engineer based in Gqeberha, South Africa, and the founder of BIG-G Aerospace and its avionics division, Meridian Avionics. His background is in safety-critical avionics software — working with DO-178C processes, Ada/SPARK, formal verification, and hard real-time embedded systems across x86/x64, ARM, and PowerPC — and that discipline runs through everything BIG-G builds.
BIG-G’s flagship programme is Pyrobird, an autonomous coaxial helicopter designed for humanitarian aerial firefighting, developed with DO-178C DAL A processes in mind, using fly-by-wire control laws and triplex voter logic.
Meridian Avionics, BIG-G’s avionics arm, is developing EFIS and flight-deck technology, including a multi-function display simulator with real-time telemetry and HOTAS integration. It also encompasses Meridian RTOS, a custom real-time operating system built from scratch and verified milestone by milestone on real hardware — from a preemptive scheduler through onboard SD/FAT32 storage and safe in-field kernel upgrades — with the goal of powering onboard computers across BIG-G’s programmes and, eventually, offering an affordable multi-architecture RTOS to the wider aerospace and robotics community, including students and startups who need an accessible entry point. This work draws directly on Gert’s experience designing flight control laws and certified cockpit software.
Above all, BIG-G Aerospace is a one-person operation built on the belief that rigorous, safety-critical engineering discipline shouldn’t be reserved only for large primes — that a small, focused team can bring the same standards to humanitarian and general aviation applications.