Today we introduce the maritime world to AAM -  with a conversation with Billy Thalheimer, CEO and Co-Founder of Regent. We’ve been hearing such positive news about Regent – as I’m sure you’ve heard as well. But what makes Regent so darn attractive? They’re not just getting orders for their aircraft – as many are – but they’re getting firm orders.  First – Billy makes it clear that Regent is addressing a multi-modal coastal transportation opportunity – with a novel vehicle – the sea glider.  Listen to the use-case. The technology. The range with existing battery technologies – and why. But listen to the challenges that others don’t have as well. A terrific conversation around the maritime certification with the Coast Guard and other organizations around the world vs. the FAA and other aviation regulators. They’ve seemingly minimized some of the more obvious risks that others have in AAM – FAA certification, landing infrastructure, air traffic control and congestion, range for electric aviation, size of vehicle and its passenger comfort, and so on. Bill expresses skepticism on whether or not some of the current AAM vehicles will actually hit their projected timelines – given what they said they would accomplish 5 years ago – and what has accomplished since – and the herculean feats, as Billy says, that some of them have to pull off to meet their objectives. Love the gut punches. And, like many of our guests, Billy is thoughtful, smart, visionary and leader. Listen to his advice to other business leaders and innovators, what he learned from working as an intern with Jeff Bezos at Blue Origin, and how he leads his team today. And what technologies he thinks you should be focusing on. 

Our guest today is Brian Yutko, Chief Executive Officer at Wisk, a California-based advanced air mobility company developing a fully autonomous electric vertical takeoff and landing air taxi. “Demystifying autonomy” is a fitting title for the insightful and fascinating conversation we had with Brian. He thoughtfully argues that autonomous electric flight for small aircraft, the likes of Wisk’s eVTOL, will become a commercial reality much sooner than most people think, only a few years from now. Of course, when making such a bold statement that most would push back on, definitions and details matter, and in the case of Wisk, the concept of operations involves flying on an IFR flight plan in extremely controlled scenarios using very high levels of integrity and assurance in the underlying systems, both on-board and on the ground. Listen to Brian explain the state of technology as well as the systems engineering and product development standing in the way of this ambitious goal. We also discussed a few myths and misconceptions that exist in the industry, namely that the value of autonomy is in eliminating pilot cost, or that the future is either piloted or autonomous. This has been such an insights-packed conversation that it’s tough to summarize it. If you’re interested in autonomous flight, the systems architecture that will support it, certification pathways for autonomous flight, sustainable flight, or just what it’s like to build a business in advanced air mobility – you don’t want to miss this episode. 

A revealing, important, and meaningful talk with Joby’s Head of Product, Eric Allison. How often do you get a chance to talk to a person of Eric’s experience and background to hear how and why the designed their vehicle the way they did given the anticipated market demand? You’ll hear a common theme throughout the podcast – Eric and Joby’s constant focus on minimizing aircraft noise – which they believe is so important for customer and community acceptance. We also have a good discussion on the overall market and how Joby is bringing the aircraft and the product and service to market, as well as their initial focused customer segment. We discuss certification and the value of a piloted vehicle in the certification process. And we get to hear Eric’s opinion on the future of fully autonomous operations. Our discussion on the cost of operation is important where Joby is developing what they believe to be the right pricing strategies based on demand patterns. We discuss the right price targets that will drive the utilization Joby requires.Eric is an articulate and informed industry leader – he provides a compelling vision for the overall market as well as for Joby. Thanks for joining us Eric! 

An in-depth discussion on UTM with Chris Kucera, co-founder of OneSky, discussing the fascinating and complex world of UAS traffic management, or UTM.  UTM is a rapidly evolving area – it’s done differently throughout the world with various degrees of application and value. Listen to what UTM is, how its formulated, its value, when its needed, and when its not.  Those of you who can understand the complexity and value of UTM will not only be better equipped to deploy, realize value from, and invest in UTM providers, but will better operate your OEM and service businesses going forward. Listen to the importance of operators sharing information, including positional and surveillance information – and the integration and synthesis of this information, and how essential this information sharing is to an effective, safe system.  Listen to the different types of UTM service providers and how UTM is deployed and by whom – and how they’re deployed in the US and throughout the world, and an important discussion of the EU’s U-space.   We cover what data is needed for different parts of the UTM process where Chris explains the data, its source, value, and application.  It’s great hearing how OneSky started, it’s unique advantages, and how they expect to provide value and make money in the years to come.  We thank Chris for a terrific discussion! 

Welcome to our conversation with Svilen Rangelov, Co-Founder and CEO of Dronamics, a business with the goal to change how the world moves goods.We start with a discussion around the broader drone/UAS market and then the cargo drone delivery market – including use-cases and early demand, challenges and opportunities, and the overall landscape. Then we talk about Dronamics, the problems they’re solving for customers near and long term with their middle mile solutions. Listen to how Svilen believes they’ll be providing a better and less expensive solution than today’s alternatives, especially with their initial focus on underserved markets. We also discuss his challenges and opportunities and why middle mile vs. last mile solutions, where last mile are where many others are focused. We also discuss their vehicle, the Black Swan, and how they plan to be an OEM, an operator, and manager of droneports. Listen to the really interesting requirements and capabilities of the droneports, the costs and challenges, and how they believe these droneports are an essential part of their competitive advantage and customer value. Svilen also discusses his conversations with logistics companies and their focus on cost. We also discuss his work with European regulators and the regulatory approvals, including for design verification. Many thanks to Svilen and Dronamics for a substantial discussion!