The Vertical Space

Welcome back to The Vertical Space! Today we're joined by Dan Magy, founder and CEO of Firestorm, a California-based company developing low-cost and modular military UAS systems. Dan's entrepreneurial history includes the founding of Citadel in 2016,  a counter drone company employing various technologies, including radio-frequency jamming to detect and mitigate unauthorized drone threats. As you can imagine, Dan's rich background sets the stage for a really insightful conversation. We kicked things off by framing the counter UAS challenge, highlighting the inadequacy of most technologies developed in the past decade in mitigating modern drone threats, particularly on the battlefield. Dan talks about the founding and early days of Citadel and what it was like to navigate the complexities of selling to the government while responding to the urgent need of countering small drones in various hotspots in the world. We then explore the evolving nature of the drone threat and how this is leading to a sophisticated cat-and-mouse dynamic. We talk about the new realities that warfighters and drone operators in regions like Ukraine are adjusting to and how this is shaping the counter UAS landscape. Throughout the conversation, Dan draws parallels to Firestorm's strategy of overwhelming adversaries with mass and modularity. We also touch upon the significance of product and user interface simplicity, how to ensure long-term defensibility of drone companies, the reasons why U.S. drone companies are struggling in Ukraine, and some emerging technologies on the horizon that Dan is excited about.

Welcome to another episode of The Vertical Space where we sit down with Andrew Coleman, leader of GE Aerospace's software business. In this conversation, we explore the critical intersection of traditional aviation and advanced air mobility, delving into the effective use of data for meaningful insights. Discover how GE mines, analyzes, and provides data for aviation customers, and how this applies to the evolving landscape of advanced air mobility. From discussing the perception of the value of aviation data to identifying specific use cases for enhancing safety, sustainability, and efficiency, Andrew shares valuable insights that shed light on the future of aviation. Tune in to learn how a focus on targeted use cases and well-defined data can drive success in both traditional and advanced aviation industries.

Welcome to The Vertical Space podcast and a discussion with Lorne Cass, an aviation executive who most recently served as Vice President of American Airlines' Integrated Operations Center, and is the current RTCA Chair. Lorne knows where aviation has been, where it is today and talks about how he believes we're going forward in aviation. You'll enjoy Lorne's overview of the aviation industry, airline operations, and the challenges faced by airline operations. Few can tell you better about the opportunities available to our innovators facing not just tomorrow's challenges, but today's opportunities for near term operational optimization. Innovators and their investors should take note. There are so many opportunities for innovators from Lorne's discussion. Starting with where he believes few agree with him on, to the challenges airlines and airports face today, to the requirements of today's and tomorrow's operators, to the challenges and opportunities of air traffic optimization and to the requirements and opportunities for data sharing and coordination in our complex airspace. 

In today's episode, we sit down with Uma Subramanian, a seasoned aviation expert with a wealth of experience in the industry.Having known Uma for many years, we've been really eager to bring her insights to our audience. From her time as an engineer working on F-18s, to doing corporate development and strategy at Rolls Royce, to leading the urban air mobility network Voom, an Airbus company, to being the founding CEO of Aero, an airline catering to premium passengers, from March 2019 to September 2023, Uma truly brings a unique perspective to the table.Our conversation with Uma covers a wide range of topics, from the genesis of Aero and the economics of running an airline to the challenges and opportunities in the ever-evolving aviation industry. One particularly contentious topic we explore is the ongoing debate surrounding Part 135 and Part 380 regulations, sparked by the success and recent public discourse around JSX.Throughout our discussion, we delve into the intricacies of airline operations, exploring questions such as the right strategies for profitable growth, the role of labor in shaping airline policies, and the regulatory structures that either hinder or foster innovation in air travel. We also touch upon exciting developments in electric aviation and the potential for regional air services in the U.S., shedding light on the future of aviation and the path forward for industry innovation.So join us as we unpack the complexities of starting and running an airline, navigate the economics of air travel, and explore the fascinating intersections of innovation and regulation in aviation.

Welcome back to The Vertical Space and a conversation with Andrew Hately - a senior researcher in the Drone unit at the EUROCONTROL Innovation Hub in France - about U-Space, UTM, and ATM. Andrew emphasizes the necessity of radical steps to integrate the airspace for UAS traffic management, suggesting that without such integration, UAS operations may not be economically viable. He particularly focuses on U-Space, discussing its origins, current status, requirements, and the challenges in its implementation. Andrew advocates for a proactive approach in designing the U-Space system from the outset, rather than adopting a slow iterative process, to ensure its effectiveness and eventual success. He also addresses the importance of drone detection, categorizing potential threats as careless, clueless, or criminal, and discusses the challenges in detecting noncooperative aircraft.Moreover, Andrew delves into the various technologies used for drone detection, including radar, acoustic, optical, and radio-based systems, highlighting the need for both tactical and strategic deconfliction to ensure safety in airspace shared by manned and unmanned aircraft. He acknowledges the current lack of confidence in surveillance systems for strategic maneuvering and emphasizes the necessity of knowing the precise locations of aircraft for effective tactical maneuvers. Additionally, Andrew discusses the role of commercial service providers in UAS traffic management, recognizing the challenges they face in a nascent market with limited flying activity but expressing optimism for the future of UAS operations. Overall, Andrew's insights reflect a well-informed and balanced perspective on the evolving landscape of UAS and UTM.

Welcome back to The Vertical Space for a conversation with Eric Leopold, a long time veteran of IATA, the International Air Transport Association. We start the conversation talking about the state of the airline industry and its current priorities such as the post COVID recovery, digital transformation and sustainability. As most of you know, there are large regional differences in the maturity of the industry and therefore priorities, so we generalize the discussion on bottlenecks that airlines and airports face as the demand for air travel grows and potentially doubles over the next 15 to 20 years. Here we touched on capacity, ground infrastructure, workforce, the IT infrastructure and how advanced air mobility can solve some of these bottlenecks. We also discuss whether the hub and spoke network model continues to be prevalent in the future.  Another key theme in the conversation is digital transformation. What are the opportunities on the business side and on the operational side? And how airline and airport CIOs are thinking about prioritizing their budgets across projects? Part of the discussion is the role of generative AI in the travel experience. For instance, instead of going to an online travel agent to buy your ticket, Eric suggests we might be able to buy , our flight in a supermarket or a bank or any other retail location for that matter. Or we might use generative AI and a voice interface to guide us through the travel booking process, one that is more personalized and more in tune with our individual preferences. If you're looking for an expert and pragmatic opinion of the challenges and opportunities that aviation is facing you're in the right place!

The podcast discusses Zipline's impressive work in Africa and the US, highlighting their success in healthcare delivery. Eric Watson shares insights on certification processes, product-market fit challenges, and AI integration for drone operations. The conversation delves into overcoming skepticism, expanding partnerships, and strategic scaling for drone delivery growth in different industries.

CEO of Electra.aero, John Langford, discusses eSTOL technology, market acceptance, certification challenges, and safety in electric aviation. He talks about the advantages of eSTOL aircraft for urban air mobility and regional needs, as well as autonomy in aviation and fostering STEM education. The podcast also explores the future of aviation innovation and sustainable business development in aerospace entrepreneurship.

Welcome back to The Vertical Space and our conversation with Kara Kramer, Director of Business Development at AeroVironment.  This is a discussion around the evolving role of UAS in warfare, including in Ukraine, the critical role of the supply chain to ensure we can properly engage in those wars, and the recent announcement of the U.S. DoD Replicator Initiative. Kara immediately jumps into the fragility of our UAS supply chain - something we've talked a lot about over the last couple of years, but she says that with all of the talk and awareness, not much has really been done about it relating to our preparation for UAS in warfare. Then we enter a very cool discussion that the outcome of future wars, as Peter says, may revolve around the capability to produce high volume electronics.We discuss the state of the UAS market, particularly defense UAS and especially around mass. How many drones can you produce and field? How quickly can you scale what's needed to maintain scale? And lastly, how would you rise to meet that demand? Kara discusses how mass is achieved, how DoD forecasting orders is the greatest limiting factor and how even large businesses can't invest without effective DoD forecasting requirements. We discuss the impact of Ukraine on UAS and the impact it's having on our vision of future wars.We then discuss DoD's Replicator Initiative and what drove its birth, how it surprised industry, how it will leverage unmanned systems to prepare for mass and how it's meant to address the growing threat from China. Finally listen to what Kara sees as the future of warfare and her advice to you, our entrepreneurs. 

Welcome to our conversation with Dr. Valerie Manning, Chief Commercial Officer of Overair. This is a discussion around the value of advanced air mobility, of eVTOLs and Overair's unique value to meet these requirements. We've had this discussion many times, on the value of the advanced air mobility and eVTOLs, but it changes over time and of course, based on the experience, education and the workplace of the person responding. And so as such, this is a conversation with Valerie that's really worth listening to. We discussed the state of advanced air mobility market today compared to several years ago, the most notable milestones, what's not getting enough attention and the road to commercialization. We then discuss what has changed about the viability and the use case of eVTOLs  in the last several years, both positive and otherwise. We spend a bit of time discussing whether or not there's a real first mover advantage  in advanced air mobility, comparing Boeing's potential advantage in the early days of aviation and perhaps where Overair may have a slow mover advantage as their vehicle will learn from the experiences and the learning curve of the initial launch vehicles and early stage eVTOL markets. We then discussed Valerie's work as Chief Commercial Officer, what the role entails a bit about their go to market strategy, and a more detailed discussion around the trade-off between selling aircraft and operating transportation networks.