The Allplane Podcast

• The Allplane Podcast #132: Airships w/ Michael Kendrick, Mark Dorey & James Dexter (Straightline Aviation)

  Is the airship ready for a big comeback? This is not some sort of retro-futurist sci-fi scenario, since there are a handful of companies working to develop a new generation modern-day iteration of this iconic type of aircraft.But, in fact, airships and, more generally, lighter than air aircraft never fully went away. The US Navy, for example, operated blimps until 1962 (and experimented with them again in the 2000s). Airships have also been used for advertising purposes and, for some time, even Richard Branson’s Virgin Group had an airship division.Our guests today know all this very well because they experienced it first hand. In fact, I doubt there are many other people in the world right now with the sort of experience and knowledge about how to operate an airship. Mike Kendrick, Mark Dorey and James Dexter boast decades of combined experience managing airships and they are now the management team of Straighline Aviation, a British startup that aims to become the world’s top airship operator.If there is a technological advance that has prompted this renewed interest in the airship category, it is the development of the Air Cushion Landing System (ACLS), which enables airships to land, load and unload at pretty much any flat spot that is large enough. This double-chambered airship concept has been under development by Lockheed Martin and, later by, a spin-off company called AT² Aerospace, for about two decades.As this technology approaches maturity, Straightline Aviation has been also refining its plans to deploy it commercially, with the plan to become the world’s first airship-based air cargo operator.On today’s episode we assess what are the chances of this happening soon and what are the requirements for a successful commercial air ship operation. We also talk about Mike Kendrick’s earlier ventures in the airship space and how the team is preparing for a nonstop circumnavigation of the globe as soon as the first unit of this novel airship type becomes available.So, tune in for a fascinating talk about airships and the role they may play in the future of aviation.

  --------  

  --------
• The Allplane Podcast #131 with Megha Bhatia, EVE Air Mobility Chief Commercial Officer

  Among the top contenders in the eVTOL space, EVE Air Mobility stands out—not because it's closer than others to entering service or because it generates more media headlines.In fact, what sets EVE aside from the pack is the backing of one of the world’s most successful and technologically advanced aircraft makers, Embraer, which has opted to move slowly but steadily in the field of advanced air mobility.And leading EVE Air Mobility on the commercial front is our guest in this episode of the podcast, Megha Bhatia, the company’s Chief Commercial Officer.In this conversation with Megha we cover the latest developments at EVE, including the firm’s participation at the 2025 Paris Air Show, where it showcased a full-scale mock up of its eVTOL aircraft, as well as its commercial traction and future prospects.We also cover in-depth the 20-year global market outlook report which EVE published earlier this year and discuss what is the role EVE Air Mobility wants to play in the highly competitive advanced air mobility market and its unique selling points.So, if you are interested in what’s going on in the nascent eVTOL industry and wish to learn more about one of its most promising projects, tune in for this fascinating conversation with Megha Bhatia, Chief Commercial Officer of EVE Air Mobility!

  --------  

  --------
• The Allplane Podcast #130 with Mukund Karanjikar, CleanJoule founder and CEO

  The world badly needs sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and, fortunately, there is not shortage of entrepreneurs willing to take on the challenge to scale up production. Now, are all SAF pathways the same? Of course not.Today on the podcast we will talk with Mukund Karanjikar, founder and CEO of CleanJoule, a SAF startup based in Utah that is developing a SAF production method that delivers more joules of energy per unit of fuel mass than other traditional biogenic pathways.What’s more, not content with powering a commercial aviation industry that is thirsty for SAF, CleanJoule is also developing biogenic SAF for space travel. So, when it comes to CleanJoule, you could well say that the sky is not the limit!The prospect of clean space travel is quite interesting by itself, but, of course, there are other considerations too, such as cost and strategic independence and, on these two counts, CleanJoule is also ready to deliver, says Mukund.So, in today’s episode we are going to learn a bit more about CycloSAF and CycloRP, the two flavours of sustainable aviation fuel that CleanJoule is developing (for the aviation and space industries, respectively) and how CleanJoule plans to roll out and scale production before the end of this decade.We will also talk about the positioning of CleanJoule is the broader and constantly evolving SAF industry landscape and why this startup has got the attention of prominent investors such as Indigo Partners (a private equity firm which owns a global portfolio of low-cost airlines) and Temasek (one of Singapore’s most prominent groups).So, tune in for a fascinating talk with Mukund Karanjikar of CleanJoule about one of the most promising technologies I have seen so far in the field of SAF!

  --------  

  --------
• The Allplane Podcast #129 with Shashank Nigam (Simpliflying / Sustainability in the Air)

  In this episode of the we welcome Shashank Nigam, who, together with Dirk Singer, has co-authored the Sustainability in the Air book series, two volumes that cover many of the most prominent entrepreneurs, companies and projects striving to make air travel cleaner and more sustainable.Now, Shashank is no newcomer to the aviation industry. He is also the founder of Simpliflying, a firm that has been providing advice in marketing and sustainability to airlines and airports for quite a few years, and also runs the Sustainability in the Air podcast.So, in a way, this is a bit of a special episode because you get not just one, but two sustainable aviation podcasters on the show!With Shashank we talk about the second volume of Sustainability in the Air and what’s new in this new book, which focuses on how the industry is moving from experimentation towards execution and how the different players in the ecosystem are learning to collaborate. Global sentiment towards sustainable aviation has swung a bit with the volatile global political and financial situation, but, as Shashank says, sustainability is a marathon rather than a sprint! We even had some birds singning in the background during the recording, quite apt for a podcast about sustainable air travel!

  --------  

  --------
• The Allplane Podcast #128 with Otto Aviation COO Scott Drennan

  In this episode of the podcast we’ll explore one of the most truly disruptive clean-sheet aircraft projects currently underway.Scott Drennan is President and Chief Operations Officer (COO) of Otto Aviation, a US startup aircraft maker that is developing an ultra-efficient executive jet. The Phantom 3500 uses a teardrop-shaped design to take full advantage of the laminar flow principle and reduce drag to a minimum.Otto Aviation is, in fact, not a newcomer. The firm has been working on this concept for more than a decade, although in the last few years it has pivoted from the original idea, the Celera 500L propeller aircraft for the general aviation market, to the Phantom 3500, a fully-fledged business jet which aims to compete in the super-mid-size category of business jets.With Scott we talk about Otto Aviation’s disruptive approach to aircraft design, how laminar flow can be mastered to achieve some unprecedented fuel efficiency gains and what this involves in terms of financial and environmental performance. We also touch upon one of the most eye-catching features of the Phantom 3500: the absence of windows for extra aerodynamical gains and how Otto Aviation is responding with a new way to conceive the passenger experience.And, following the announcement, made during the 2025 Paris Air Show, that Otto Aviation is investing in a greenfield manufacturing facility in Jacksonville, Florida, we also discuss the company’s investment plans and go-to-market strategy. How many aircraft is it planning to build per year? Who is it planning to primarily compete with and how?Tune in for a fascinating conversation that combines technical and commercial insights about the unique Phantom 3500 business jet, a flying bullet which may change how we think about aerodynamics and aircraft construction!

  --------  

  --------

Más podcasts de Economía y empresa

Podcasts a la moda de Economía y empresa

Acerca de The Allplane Podcast