#59 John Langford, Electra.aero: Bringing eSTOL to Market

#59 John Langford, Electra.aero: Bringing eSTOL to Market

Welcome back to The Vertical Space and a terrific conversation with John Langford, CEO of Electra.aero. We talked about the key drivers for advanced air mobility, and how factors such as market acceptance, use case, certification, tech readiness, and infrastructure requirements dictate what type of vehicles will fly first with commercial relevance. We extensively discussed eSTOL - its advantages and disadvantages compared to other proposed vehicle types of today. John explains why Electra decided to use blown lift, STOL technology and hybrid electric power. Listen to what use cases they're targeting with a soccer field sized operating spaces. We then discuss Aurora Flight Sciences, from the very early days to the eventual acquisition by Boeing. 

05:18 Electra's take on Power-Lift SFARs
14:28 What comes first in AAM: A case for hybrid eSTOL
19:48 Blown Lift: The "why now?" question
23:47 Electra's target markets and use cases
34:08 The promise of low noise
38:16 The eSTOL safety case
45:53 Market opportunity for extremely short take-off and landing capability
52:58 General aviation as a market for eSTOL
55:21 History of Aurora Flight Sciences
01:03:52 The Aurora Diaspora
01:06:21 Capital requirements

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