GoFly, Author at GoFly Prize - Page 5 of 10 GoFly Prize

Editor’s Note: Over the next two years, we’ll be hosting a series of GoFly Master Lectures where industry experts share advice, insights, and answer questions from anyone interested in participating in the GoFly Prize.

For the latest in our series of “Master Lectures,” we welcome Mourad Yesayan, a Principal at Paladin Capital Group. Yesayan is an investment lead for the firm’s Cyber Fund, which focuses on investing in early-stage companies in the US and Europe with solutions for cybersecurity and digital resilience.

Yesayan is currently actively involved in several of Paladin’s investments including Expel, RiskSense, Ursa, RiskLens, and previously worked with Unitrends (acquired by Insight Venture Partners).

In this lecture, he offers advice on mastering the VC pitch.

Editor’s Note: We’re excited to introduce you to the innovative, bold, and talented individuals competing in GoFly. Our teams come from all over the world, shaped by their diverse backgrounds and unique life experiences. We can’t wait to see what they’ll build, but in the meantime, get to know the people behind the devices.

Team ZEVA’s design for the GoFly Prize challenge began the same way so many other great ideas are born—as a sketch on a napkin. Colleagues Stephen Tibbitts and Ben Gould were working on a different project together when the proverbial sketch came together over lunch and now, Tibbitts and his team of 14 are on their way to building a personal flying device called the Zero.

Receiving his private pilot’s license opened Tibbitts’ eyes to the need for a personal eVTOL device as a more convenient and sustainable means of transportation, and he has been working on bringing his vision to life ever since.

Read on to learn more about Tibbitts and what triggered his passion for building!

What’s your earliest memory associated with flight?

I’m not sure if my first memory was the drogue parachute I found or the cardboard wings I strapped to my back, running down a hill as fast as I could, just trying to get a little air.

What excites you about GoFly?

GoFly is an amazing catalyst for small-scale aviation development. I look forward to seeing inventive solutions and technologies that will be brought to light because of GoFly.

What does the world look like after you create your flying device? How do you think you will change the world?

Electric cars are amazing, but electric aircraft will be even more amazing. In a small way, we will help reduce carbon in the planet’s atmosphere. Hopefully, it will also help re-energize interest among young people and drive them to get involved in aviation, lower stress levels for commuters, and provide a fun recreational platform.

What is your biggest challenge in the GoFly Prize competition currently? How do you plan to overcome it?

Energy density is our biggest challenge. There are many innovative ideas for battery technologies out there, but most are not in large-scale production yet. For the time being, we plan to use modular battery packs that can be swapped out for higher density cells when they become available.

When did you become interested in aviation and building aircraft?

In the early 2000s, I obtained my private pilot’s license. Through that process, I learned that general aviation was in decline due to many factors, including the demise of small airports. Without these airports, general aviation aircraft are no longer a practical means of transportation because you can’t get to where you need to go. After thinking about this problem extensively, the only logical conclusion was VTOL, and since I have experience in electrical, it has to be eVTOL. So, I started working on an eVTOL scale model and eventually submitted a grant application to NASA to start building this design.

What were some of your favorite courses in school?

Physics, engineering and design. And for anyone interested in aviation and aerodynamics, getting your private pilot’s license is very important. It teaches you the many aspects of flight.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received from a mentor?

My dad, Dale A. Tibbitts, told me: “Listen and then just start doing it. Adjust your course along the way.”

Want to see your team featured in a Q&A as well? Fill out our questionnaire to get started!

For the latest in our series of “Master Lectures,” we welcome Tess Hatch, an investor in Bessemer Venture Partners’ Silicon Valley office. She is focused on frontier tech, specifically commercial space, cyber security, and drones. She currently serves as board observer for Impossible Aerospace, Iris Automation, Rocket Lab, Spire, Auth0, Endgame, Distil Networks, Team8, Virtru, Claroty, CyberGRX, and Illusive Networks.

In this lecture, she shares insight on pitching to venture capitalists and provides advice to new businesses.

A Stanford University graduate, Trek Aerospace team captain Robert Bulaga is no newcomer to the world of aviation. Bulaga is an expert in ducted propeller technology and currently works with a number of companies on integrating this technology into their devices, all while developing his own creative design for the GoFly Prize.

Along with his team members, Jose Fierro and Joshua Portlock, Bulaga is building the FlyKart 2, a single-seat, open-cockpit, 10-rotor, ducted fan, electrically-powered VTOL aircraft. The team impressed in Phase I and emerged as one of our ten winners.

Get to know more about Robert Bulaga below!

GoFly: What’s your earliest memory associated with flight?

Robert Bulaga: My very first flight was on a C-47 plane. I was en-route from Guam to Hawaii, and I was only three years old.

GoFly: What excites you about GoFly?

Bulaga: I’ve dreamt of building a personal aircraft that could fit in a one-car garage and be economical to operate. GoFly assures me that I’m not alone in this dream.

GoFly: What’s one of your proudest achievements to date?

Bulaga: I went to college so that I could design, build, and fly unconventional aircraft. I’ve made a successful career out of bringing surprising designs to life.

GoFly: When did you decide to pursue a career in aviation?

Bulaga: I’ve always liked airplanes, so when my high school adviser suggested that I should be an engineer, it felt like the right path for me.

GoFly: What were some of your favorite courses in school?

Bulaga: Not surprisingly, math and science were my favorite. I loved word problems.

GoFly: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received from a mentor?

Bulaga: “A turtle makes no progress unless he sticks out his head.” In other words, don’t be afraid to take chances.

Want to see your team featured in a Q&A as well? Fill out our questionnaire to get started!

For the latest in our series of “Master Lectures,” we welcome Carl Dietrich, co-founder and CEO of Terrafugia. Dietrich received his BS, MS and Ph.D. from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) shortly after receiving the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for Innovation in 2006. Dietrich was also recognized by the Aero/Astro Department at MIT as one of sixteen exceptional graduates under the age of 35.

In addition, Dietrich has received “40 Under 40” awards from the Boston Business Journal and Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine. He has spoken internationally and is generally regarded as the leader of the emerging modern flying car industry. He has been a private pilot since the age of seventeen.

In this video, he shares the story of his company, Terrafugia.

For the latest in our series of “Master Lectures,” we welcome Bob Parks, a Technical Fellow at Aurora Flight Sciences, a subsidiary of Boeing. He mainly works on the design of non-traditional aircraft, including sub-scale and full-scale prototyping. He has been working on VTOL aircraft professionally for 20 years, but has also worked on Mars aircraft, solar aircraft, submersible aircraft and even a few conventional aircrafts.

In this video, he lectures about using ducted fans for hover and cruise.

Inspired by the likes of Otto Lilienthal and the Wright Brothers, Gary Gress has been interested in aviation since age four. The creative force behind Team Athena Aero, Gress is diligently working on his design, an inertial bi-copter, in Calgary, Canada. He has been building various bi-copter models since 1999 and continues to perfect his approach, tweaking elements with every new iteration.

Read on to get to know Gress and his vision of a world full of personal flying devices.

What’s your earliest memory associated with flight?

Being taken by my father to Toronto International Airport when I was about four years old. By age five or six, I was making model planes out of the cardboard that came with my dad’s shirts when he brought them home from the dry cleaners.

What excites you about GoFly?

GoFly has the potential to enable a universal dream of mankind: truly personal flight, without airports or runways. The freedom and autonomy of that are exciting.

What does the world look like after you create your flying device?

In its fullest sense, an extra dimension will be added to the world and to our lives. Perhaps one day, cities, as we know them now, will be obsolete. Roads, parking lots and gridlock could be a thing of the past. All that wasted space can then be returned to nature and park land.

What are your biggest challenges in the GoFly Prize competition currently?

I have three challenges: recognizing, gathering and applying the resources needed to viably implement my ideas physically in full scale.

You’ve worked on bi-copters for some time now. Can you discuss the evolution of your models?

From about 1999 to the present, I’ve worked on developing non-cyclic bicopters, which is the aircraft type I’ve entered into the GoFly competition. I watched an expert RC helicopter pilot try to fly my very first bi-copter back in 2000 at a helicopter get-together in Waterloo, Ontario. The device couldn’t even fly, as it was very unstable in pitch. By 2002, I finally built my first hovering bi-copter. Fast-forward to 2009, and I was demonstrating a 15-pound ‘eVader’ bi-copter to the University of Calgary (where I now study and work). And now, my latest bi-copter design is a part of the GoFly competition.

What were some of your favorite courses in school? How did they enrich your understanding of aviation?

Dynamics, Differential Equations, and Design of Machinery. The first two allowed me to investigate and validate the stability of my aircraft, while the third was the foundation for implementation, alongside my tinkering.

What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve ever received from a mentor?

It takes a lot of work to make something simple.

Want to see your team featured in a Q&A as well? Fill out our questionnaire to get started!

For the latest in our series of “Master Lectures,” we welcome Mike Hirschberg, executive director of the Vertical Flight Society and Dr. Marilyn Smith, director of the AE School’s Computational Nonlinear Computational Aeroelasticity Lab at Georgia Tech.

As Executive Director of The Vertical Flight Society, Mike Hirschberg is responsible for the execution of the strategic direction set by the VFS Board of Directors. He was previously a principal aerospace engineer with CENTRA Technology, Inc., providing technical and program management support for over 10 years to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Office of Naval Research (ONR) on advanced aircraft and rotorcraft concepts.

Dr. Smith received her PhD from Georgia Tech in 1994 while working in industry from 1982 to 1997. She joined the School of Aerospace Engineering in 1997, and is currently a full professor and Associate Director of the Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence (VLRCOE). Smith performs research in the areas of non-linear computational aeroelasticity (using CFD) and the integrated multidisciplinary areas of unsteady aerodynamics and acoustic/fluid/structure interactions across rotating and fixed wing vehicles and systems.

In this video, they lecture about technical resources for vertical flight.

For the latest in our series of “Master Lectures,” we welcome Earl Lawrence, the executive director of the UAS Integration Office at the FAA, responsible for the facilitation of all regulations, policies, and procedures required to support FAA’s UAS integration efforts.

Lawrence also represents the FAA on the Senior Steering Group of the UAS Executive Committee, focusing on coordination and alignment of efforts among key federal government agencies. He previously served as the Manager of the FAA’s Small Airplane Directorate and was the designated executive focal for unmanned aircraft systems within the Aircraft Certification Service. He received the 2003 Robert J. Painter Memorial Award from the Standards Engineering Society for his standards work for Light Sport Aircraft. Lawrence holds a commercial multi-engine pilot certificate as well as an airframe and powerplant mechanic certificate with an Inspection Authorization. He is a graduate of Northrop University in Los Angeles.

In this video, he lectures about the challenges of the regulatory environment and offers advice on identifying the right path to follow.

Because we know that fundraising is hard—and sometimes you don’t know where to start or who might be interested in meeting with you—GoFly has been actively engaged with VCs and Investment Firms to pave the way for our Phase II Teams to raise money to fund your flying devices.

GoFly has prepared a list of Investors interested in speaking to, meeting with, and potentially funding GoFly Teams. All Investors on this list have had discussions with GoFly and are fully knowledgeable about the competition—and they have asked to be placed on this list so that our GoFly Teams can reach out to them as potential funding partners. While there is no guarantee of funding, the investors listed are interesting in speaking with and learning more about GoFly teams, and all have the ability to fund teams.

This list contains the names of seasoned professionals, so before you reach out, we encourage you to have your presentation and your pitch deck prepared.

To help you prepare for conversations with potential investors, GoFly offers Master Lectures on topics such as funding and raising capital, which can be accessed in the Documents section of the Phase I website as well as the Lectures tab of the Phase II website. Additionally, GoFly can also provide your team with a Mentor to help during the fundraising process. If you would like to request a technical or business Mentor, please complete this form. Please note, mentors are paired with mentees on a first come, first served basis.

With various ways to raise funds, this list is a good starting point for traditional VC funding. Should you decide to pursue other forms of fundraising, GoFly can also assist you with Sponsorships and/or Crowdfunding.

For any specific questions or to schedule a conference call with us, please reach out to us at info@goflyproze.com or phase2@goflyprize.com. We are here to help you!