Aerospace Design · Aviation Solutions · Since 2017
From ideationto concept ready.
A design studio for the future of flight. We help aerospace clients shape ideas into investor-ready concepts — and the brand stories that surround them.
);
};
/* ============ CAPABILITIES ============ */
const CAPS = [
{ num: '01', icon: 'pencil', imgKey: 'doggyHero', title: 'Concept Design', body: 'The shape of an idea. We work with you to define mission, form, and feel — and translate it into a coherent design language.' },
{ num: '02', icon: 'design', imgKey: 'bjTopdown', title: 'Industrial Design', body: 'Exterior surfaces, line work, materiality, and detail. Our concepts are designed to look the way they should perform.' },
{ num: '03', icon: 'render', imgKey: 'bjAlps', title: 'Visualization', body: 'Photoreal renders, cinematic film, animated walkthroughs — the materials that get your concept funded, signed, and remembered.' },
{ num: '04', icon: 'cabin', imgKey: 'clientVtolNyc', title: 'Cabin & Interior', body: 'Interior architecture, passenger experience, layout studies. The inside of the story is as important as the silhouette.' },
{ num: '05', icon: 'strategy', imgKey: 'clientHelipad', title: 'Aviation Consulting', body: 'Strategy, partner introductions, supplier sourcing, and go-to-market support drawn from a decade in aerospace networks.' },
];
const Capabilities = ({ heading = true }) => {
const head = useReveal();
const [active, setActive] = useState(0);
const hoveredRef = useRef(false);
useEffect(() => {
const id = setInterval(() => { if (!hoveredRef.current) setActive(a => (a + 1) % CAPS.length); }, 3600);
return () => clearInterval(id);
}, []);
const cap = CAPS[active];
return (
01
{heading && (
What we do
A studio for aerospace design and aviation solutions.
We partner with aviation companies, agencies, and entrepreneurs to take ideas from the first sketch to a concept ready to present, pitch, or build.
Selected, awarded, and showcased across the U.S. military innovation pipeline — alongside our co-venture partner JETX in Orlando, Florida.
{awards.map((a, i) => (
AWARDED·{a.year}
{a.name}
{a.detail}
))}
);
};
/* ============ VOICES ============ */
const Voices = () => {
const ref = useReveal();
const [idx, setIdx] = useState(0);
const voices = [
{ q: 'GRUG turned an ambition into a concept we could put on a stage. The Speedster came back with proportions we never could have briefed for in words.', who: 'Project Lead', where: 'RYZR Mobility · 2026' },
{ q: 'Most studios send back a render. GRUG sent back a brand. The deck closed our seed round in the first three rooms.', who: 'Founder & CEO', where: 'Nalwa Aero · India' },
{ q: 'Working with Nelson is closer to working with an aerospace partner than a vendor. He shows up to the regulator meetings.', who: 'Co-Founder', where: 'JETX · Orlando' },
{ q: 'A concept package we could hand to engineering on a Monday and to investors on a Tuesday without changing a single page.', who: 'Head of Strategy', where: 'Aviation Broker · FL' },
];
useEffect(() => {
const id = setInterval(() => setIdx(i => (i + 1) % voices.length), 6800);
return () => clearInterval(id);
}, [voices.length]);
const v = voices[idx];
return (
Our concepts are designed to fly, not just to render.
The work doesn't stop at a beautiful image. We design surfaces that fabricate, proportions that balance, and propulsion that survives the test bench. Below — one of our concepts, built and airborne with our client partners.
CAPABILITY · 01
Fluidic thrust vectoring, from sketch to hardware.
A printed, instrumented multirotor demonstrator built around a custom EDF-and-nozzle propulsion stack. Every component drawn, machined, or printed in-studio — then flown.
HEAD-ON · EXIT PLANESmoke confirms attached, axisymmetric flow through the printed convergent nozzle.
CAPABILITY · 02
Four assemblies. One propulsion stack.
{details.map((d) => (
{d.n} · {d.k}
{d.t}
{d.b}
))}
CLIENT BUILT · 03
Nalwa Savera eVTOL — concept to flying prototype.
Concept design and visualization by GRUG GROUP. Engineering, fabrication, and flight test by our partner Nalwa Aero (India). The frames below are the production hardware — an octacopter with tilting rotors — airborne.
NALWA SAVERA · IN HOVER
NALWA SAVERA · IN GROUND EFFECT
CLIENT PROTOTYPE · NALWA SAVERAOctacopter with tilting rotors — hover trials near the engineering campus.
NALWA SAVERA · STATIC
CLIENT PROTOTYPE · NALWA SAVERAFull airframe at rest — eight tilting-rotor units on the ring frame, central pod.
Beyond renders — we deliver full design boards, technical views, and presentation materials your team can use the moment we hand them over.
SUPERSONIC BJ · DESIGN BOARD
AWIREFRAME
BCONCEPT
CFINAL RENDER
);
};
/* ============ PROCESS ============ */
const Process = () => {
const [visible, setVisible] = useState(false);
const ref = useRef(null);
useEffect(() => {
const el = ref.current; if (!el) return;
const io = new IntersectionObserver(entries => { entries.forEach(e => { if (e.isIntersecting) { setVisible(true); io.unobserve(el); } }); }, { threshold: 0.3 });
io.observe(el);
return () => io.disconnect();
}, []);
const steps = [
{ n: '01', t: 'Discover', b: 'We sit down with you, understand the mission, the audience, and the ambition. No assumptions.' },
{ n: '02', t: 'Design', b: 'Form, surface, identity. We move from rough silhouettes to a final visual language.' },
{ n: '03', t: 'Visualize', b: 'Renders, film, and presentation materials — built to win pitches and investor rooms.' },
{ n: '04', t: 'Hand-off', b: 'A complete concept package, ready for the next step — partner outreach, engineering, or production.' },
];
const headRef = useReveal();
return (
04
How we work
From a sketch to a story.
{steps.map(s => (
{s.n}
{s.t}
{s.b}
))}
);
};
/* ============ LEADERSHIP ============ */
const Leadership = () => {
const ref = useReveal();
const leads = [
{
name: 'Nelson J.', last: 'Salas', role: 'FOUNDER · LEAD DESIGNER', photo: 'teamNelson',
bio: [
'Twenty-nine years moving aircraft from sketch to certification — and the founder behind every line GRUG has drawn since 2017.',
'Nelson\u2019s practice sits at the intersection of aerospace engineering and industrial design. He has led concept work on more than ten eVTOL platforms, presented at the AFWERX HSVTOL Showcase, and took first place in the 2023 U.S. Army xTech Autonomy Competition — backed by over $500K in U.S. Department of Defense contracts.',
'Clients from India to Orlando work with him because he stays in the room. The first whiteboard session, the regulator pre-brief, the final hand-off — same person draws the silhouette and signs the engineering memo.',
],
stats: [{ k: 'Experience', v: '29+ years' }, { k: 'eVTOL', v: '10+ concepts' }, { k: 'Programs', v: 'AFWERX · xTech' }, { k: 'Contracts', v: '$500K+ DoD' }],
tags: ['GRUG GROUP', 'JETX', 'NALWA AERO', 'MATRIX AVIATION'],
},
{
name: 'Urupagua', last: 'Urquiola', role: 'CO-FOUNDER · LEGAL & OPERATIONS', photo: 'teamUrupagua',
bio: [
'Co-founder and legal counsel for GRUG Group since 2017. Directs corporate operations, international contracts, and partner agreements across the studio\u2019s defense, space, and commercial mobility engagements.',
'The reason every deal closes clean.',
],
stats: [{ k: 'Co-Founder', v: 'Since 2017' }, { k: 'Practice', v: 'Aviation Law' }, { k: 'Scope', v: 'International' }, { k: 'Operations', v: 'Studio Ops' }],
tags: ['LEGAL', 'CONTRACTS', 'COMPLIANCE', 'INVESTOR RELATIONS'],
},
];
return (
05
Leadership
The team behind every project.
A two-partner studio. Every project led personally, from the first conversation to the final delivery.
{(Array.isArray(bio) ? bio : [bio]).map((para, i) =>
{para}
)}
{stats.map(s =>
{s.k}
{s.v}
)}
{tags.map(t => {t})}
);
};
/* ============ STORY — About narrative ============ */
const Story = () => {
const ref = useReveal();
const pillars = [
{ k: 'VISION', t: 'A design partner for the future of flight.', b: 'We believe the next era of aviation will be defined as much by how aircraft look and tell their story as by how they fly. We exist to give that story form.' },
{ k: 'MISSION', t: 'Ideas to investor-ready, end to end.', b: 'From the first sketch to the brochure, the render, and the contract — we carry a concept the whole distance, so our clients can walk into any room ready.' },
{ k: 'FOCUS', t: 'Advanced air mobility & next-gen aviation.', b: 'eVTOL, supersonic, defense, and space — wherever flight is being reinvented, we help shape the concepts that get it funded and built.' },
];
return (
Our story
Founded in 2017 to design the future of flight.
GRUG GROUP is an aerospace design studio and aviation solutions company based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We partner with aviation companies, agencies, and entrepreneurs worldwide — turning ambitions into concept-ready aircraft and the brand stories that surround them.
We work with aviation companies, agencies, and entrepreneurs worldwide. Send us the brief — we'll come back with a scoped proposal, timeline, and fixed quote within five business days.