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 Nick Lappos, Senior Technical Fellow for Advanced Technology at Sikorsky Aircraft, where he oversees the introduction of advanced technologies into new and existing products. Lappos began his Aerospace career in the US Army as an attack helicopter pilot in Vietnam. He has since logged more than 7,500 hours of flight time in over 70 different types of helicopters, and holds 23 patents and three helicopter speed records. During his Sikorsky career, Lappos participated in the development of aircraft such as the S76, UH-60, RAH-66, and several others.

If you have follow-up questions, check out current discussions on the GoFly forum or start your own thread!

The dream of flying on demand, perhaps just mere steps from one’s front door, is edging closer to reality. One organization interested in this pursuit is the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a GoFly Prize partner. In the following Q&A, Ben Iannotta, editor in chief of Aerospace America, the magazine of the AIAA, and staff reporter Tom Risen discuss how the era of personal flying devices could soon be upon us if engineering challenges are overcome and society embraces the new-fangled means of getting from here to there.   

The following is an edited transcript of the discussion. The participants have been provided the opportunity to amend or edit their remarks.

Q: What are the best arguments for why an era of personal flying devices might actually—finally—be upon us?

Tom: People building personal flying devices are very excited about electric propulsion. It makes a whole bunch of designs possible that aren’t with traditional mechanical and chemical-powered propulsion.

Ben: That’s right. In terms of technology, some of the groundwork, if you will, for electric propulsion has been laid by the drone industry. Electric propulsion will be quieter, which it’ll have to be to go into neighborhoods in the morning.

Tom: A second main “why now?” argument for personal flying devices is the success of ride-sharing apps. A repeated sales pitch I hear from companies that want to build so-called flying taxis is that people will pay extra money to go where they’re going faster by air, because time is the only thing you can’t get back in this life.

Q: Tom, you wrote a story for Aerospace America last year about this growing interest in sky taxis. Uber is creating partnerships to help companies develop such automated, drone-like, propeller craft for passenger transportation. Will personal flying devices initially be designed to likely appeal to commuters more than recreators?  

Tom: My reporting indicates that commuters will be the first big market because of high rideshare demand.

Ben: Based on the history of technology advances, though, it can be pretty darn hard to predict how human beings will end up using something. There’s so many applications for drones these days that I don’t think people anticipated initially.

Q: What do you see as the biggest technological and engineering hurdles that still must be overcome for personal flying devices?

Tom: Many engineers I’ve spoken with point to batteries. Batteries have not kept up with our technological prowess. Battery endurance and safety are going to be very important. Some engineers have suggested that at first, flying taxi companies might have to swap out batteries every flight, just to make sure they’ll have the energy needed to fly 30 minutes.

Another big issue is autonomy. Many people pursuing personal flying devices want them to operate on their own, without human “pilots,” which will cut down on human error, boost safety, and potentially slash costs. It’s one of the same arguments for driverless cars.

Ben: Tom’s reporting shows how critical autonomy is to growing this market in the long-term and getting a high volume of flights. I would not want to see everybody on my morning commute on the Fairfax County Parkway suddenly go airborne at the controls! I’d feel better about autonomy in crowded air spaces.

Tom: Air traffic management will be a challenge. Most of the designs for personal flying devices—or sky taxis, jetpacks, whatever they might be—are smaller than planes or helicopters, and for a business to profitably operate them, they would need to have a lot of customers. That means there’ll be many, many small aircraft adding to the traffic that’s in the sky already.

Q: Could social acceptance be an even bigger hurdle to personal flying devices? Some people remain afraid of flying on airplanes, a technology that’s over a century old.

Tom: We’ll see problems with social acceptance the way we have with other flying devices in history. YouGov did a survey last year showing that more than half of the consumers surveyed said they’d feel unsafe riding in a driverless drone. And about four out of five respondents said that they’d have to have the option of taking control of the drone to even consider riding in one.

Ben: When I think about social acceptance, I’ve always suspected that humans evolved to be terrified of falling. That explains why flying can be both frightening and thrilling. If you look at the history of flight, if past is prologue, we could overcome this fear. As the airline industry constantly reminds people, air travel has actually long been safer than driving in your car.

Q: Would you see yourself as a potential early adopter of personal flying devices?

Tom: I was always interested in the supersonic Concorde when I was younger. I didn’t think about jetpacks as much, but I did like flying in a helicopter this one time with my friend. So I’d probably be interested in a personal flying device that resembled a rotorcraft.

Ben: Trust me, as far as operating vehicles, we’re all glad that I stick to cars and boats and things that operate in two dimensions. [Laughter] That said, I do love flying and aircraft and spacecraft, no doubt. I just think it’s amazing that humans have been able to open up this vast territory above us.  

With over 2,100 Innovators participating in the GoFly Prize from 86 countries across 6 continents, GoFly is catalyzing innovation across the globe!

Our innovators include some of the best and brightest designers, builders, and thinkers from young engineers at top universities to veteran aerospace experts … and this excitement has been a constant reminder that, together, we will Make People Fly.

GoFly judges, and the world at large, can’t wait to see the first round of submissions this spring. As a reminder, the final submission deadline for Phase I is April 18th at 5:00 pm ET.

Creating anything big and bold is hard, but creating revolutionary new technology is extremely hard, which is why GoFly empowers our Teams by providing access to incredibly valuable software, products, services, and experts. Today, GoFly is proud to announce the beginning of our roster of in-kind sponsors. All Teams who participate in the competition and who continue to remain active competitors will have access to:

Onshape: Exclusive CAD Software Sponsor

The modern CAD system offers advanced modeling tools and design data management in a secure cloud workspace that is accessible on any device and never loses data. Onshape will be providing its Professional Level CAD software and technical support to all registered GoFly Teams. When additional help is needed, all Teams have access to Onshape technical support, online classes and tutorials

TotalSim US: Preferred CFD Simulation Software

TotalSim US’s Computational Fluid Dynamics allows users to simulate test conditions and run robust analyses on build designs, all through cutting edge CFD technologies. All GoFly Teams will have access to TotalSim US’s CFD software, as well as access to simulation tokens.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will be announcing more in-kind sponsors that will empower active GoFly Innovators to turns their dreams into reality through access to building materials and specialized parts.

Teams will be able to learn more about how to access these tools and services on the competitor platform at HeroX.com/GoFly.

Stay tuned for a few more exciting updates on new sponsors and the opening of the Phase II Build portion of the competition later this spring!

Ready. Set. GoFly!

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 Dan Newman, a Senior Technical Fellow of  Boeing in aircraft configuration design and development. He serves as the Chief Engineer for vertical lift aircraft research and development, and supports Commercial Airplane Product Development. He previously served as a Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), as the Technical Director of the AHS International vertical flight technical society, and as an Adjunct Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.

Watch the full lecture above to hear Newman discuss the intricacies of vertical flight aircraft configuration design. He reminds us that the challenge of solid aircraft design is finding a technically feasible solution that meets the objective. “Sketching is not just cartooning,” Newman says. “It is, in fact, innovating.”

If you have follow-up questions, check out current discussions on the GoFly forum or start your own thread!

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 Dr. William Lewis, Director for Aviation Development of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research’s Development & Engineering Center. Dr. Lewis manages and directs the execution of the Aviation Science and Technology Program including basic and applied research and advanced technology development. He is responsible for the success of the Army’s multi-million dollar aviation science and technology program and is the Office of the Secretary of Defense lead for rotorcraft technology. He also serves as the Director of the National Rotorcraft Technology Center and as such represents the Army in the development, approval and execution of programs conducted by the Vertical Lift Consortium and the Vertical Lift Centers of Excellence.

Watch the full lecture above for Dr. Lewis’ insights on managing and defining technical dependencies, and learn why his mantra is, “It’s the integration, stupid!” If you have follow-up questions, check out current discussions on the GoFly forum or start your own thread!

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 Roger Connor of the Smithsonian Institution, where he curates a number of collections, including vertical flight, unmanned aircraft systems, aircraft instruments and avionics, air navigation, and air traffic control. Connor is an experienced fixed wing commercial pilot with over 4,000 hours of flight time. He has held flight instructor certificates in the United States and United Kingdom, holds a seaplane rating, and served as a designated private pilot examiner for the UK CAA. He was awarded Associate Fellow status by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for his work in support of the American Helicopter Society’s history endeavors. He co-authored In the Cockpit II: Inside History-Making Aircraft of World War II and is currently writing a book on Virginia Aviation. Watch the full lecture above, and read on for Connor’s take on vertical flight’s lowering cost structures and the importance of understanding the context in which a technology exists. If you have follow-up questions, check out current discussions about design on the GoFly forum or start your own thread!

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 sixth in our series of  “Master Lectures,” we welcome Fernando Dones, a Technical Fellow of Critical Flight Systems at Boeing. Dones’ expertise in Flight Controls was developed over a 35-year career making technical leadership contributions on programs such as Advanced Digital/Optical Control System (ADOCS), V-22, Bell-Boeing 609 and Adaptive Vehicle Management System. His contributions to these programs include systems architectures, innovative safety monitors, redundancy management algorithms, FCS actuator servo loop approaches with safety monitors and software architectures optimized for system safety and handling quality performance. His broad practical experience complemented by deep technical understanding and ability to explain complex concepts make him a highly sought technical advisor and a celebrated mentor.

In this lecture, Dones shares advice on how to mitigate risk in flight control systems and ensure reliable system architecture. Watch the full lecture above, and read on for the story behind Dones’ love for flight, the opportunities he sees in the future of vertical flight and his advice to GoFly competitors. If you have follow-up questions, check out current discussions about design on the GoFly forum or start your own thread!

GF: When did you first fall in love with flight?

FD: Sophomore year in college (1978), during spring break in Daytona Beach, a friend who was a student at Embry Riddle University invited me to see the beach from a Cessna 150. The experience hooked me forever. I accepted coops and internships with the FAA that led be to a job from Boeing.

GF: Tell us about one discovery or success that you are particularly proud to have been part of.

FD: Successfully achieving a position servo-loop of a hydraulic actuator using fiber optics (Light Command, Light Feedback) in 1982 — potentially the first in the world.

GF: Why do you think the GoFly competition is important for aerospace innovation?

FD: Without question, it is! This competition can foster momentum for innovation with the public and policy makers, culminating in a technological leap similar to the invention of the round wheel or the transition from bicycles to cars. The public is given the freedom of transportation with a safe, on-demand mode of transportation that can save time and minimize environmental impact.  There’s also the opportunity for the general public to see the beauty of communities and landscapes the way pilots do today. The next step: building the infrastructure!

GF: As a veteran with decades of experience in aerospace, what excites you most about the future of vertical flight?

FD: I’m excited by how innovative technology is being developed to safely allow a non-fully trained rotorcraft user to operate a highly-complex machine — without the expensive and time-consuming process of learning how to fly. As the new generation is being exposed to this trend, society is building trust and enthusiasm for this technology. It’s a steep curve to reach popular adoption, but it is imminent.

GF: What was the best piece of advice you received in your career that might be particularly helpful to GoFly participants?

FD: When you think of a design, figure out how it can fail and evaluate if that failure can be mitigated. One must use science (the mathematics and physics we were taught for a reason) to assure safety and performance.

Intuition will lead you to invention, and science will allow you to develop it to achieve what you and others expected it to.

Additionally, “garage engineering” — guesses and hope — is not allowed. From this I concluded: Engineering = Science + Economics (and sometimes) + politics.

GF: What is one ingredient for success you believe will be essential for GoFly teams?FD: Believe in what you do and use engineering knowledge.

On the Community Forum, you’ll find moderated Q&A’s and real-time conversations with competitors. Recently, Gwen Lighter, CEO and founder of GoFly, joined the forum to answer innovators’ questions about the origins of the competition. Read on, then hit the discussion boards to tell us what sparked your own passion for flight  …

You know those kids who would make crazy contraptions and jump out of trees to see if they could fly? That was me.

Like most of you, I’ve always dreamed of flying. Throughout my life I have been inspired by the many heroes of flight, especially those who faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Take the Wright Brothers, who woke up every morning knowing that they would almost certainly fail. But every time they would go out to fly—every time—they brought with them extra materials, knowing they would need to rebuild. They had an unswerving drive to innovate and an unyielding will to persevere, and, after years of non-stop failure, they made their wildest dream come true.

Or take Neil Armstrong who at age 10 cut the grass at a cemetery every week to earn enough money to buy a model plane, and at age 16 worked three jobs to pay for flying lessons, and at age 22 flew 78 combat missions, and at age 39 was the first man to land on the moon. He taught us that to land on the moon— indeed to land all our big chances—we need to work hard and earn it.

And how about Bessie Coleman? Just like Neil Armstrong, Bessie Coleman wanted to fly more than anything else, but because no US flight school would admit her in 1920, she learned French so that she could take flying lessons in Paris—and upon her return, she was a champion aviator.

Throughout my life, these heroes have inspired me, and through them I have learned that true grit and transformative innovation can come from anyone, anywhere.

You know those kids who would make crazy contraptions and jump out of trees to see if they could fly? That was me.

So, I continued to read about hero innovators and their breakthrough technologies, and I began focusing on recent advances in control and stability systems, propulsion, lightweight materials, energy, and rapid prototyping. I realized that the convergence of these breakthrough technologies would open up innovation to engineers around the globe. That was when I knew that we had reached the technological moment when we had the ability to make that childhood dream of personal flight a reality. That was the moment that GoFly was born.

As GoFly started taking shape, I knew that there was a world of inventors, engineers, students, and builders who had the knowledge and passion to design and build a new generation of personal flying devices. Knowing that this sort of transformative innovation can be catalyzed with the right support, I approached Boeing to become the Grand Sponsor of GoFly. For over a year, we worked with Boeing to finalize the technical rules, prizing, programming, and Master and Mentor platform. With their support, as well as the collaboration of 21 international aerospace and engineering organizations, the GoFly Prize launched on September 26, 2017 at the SAE Aerotech Conference in Texas.

And here we are today, with innovators from all around the world coming together to make history.

There is only one more thing to say: go out and make your most audacious dream—the dream of pure human flight—a reality.

Ready, Set … GoFly.

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 fifth in our series of Master Lectures, we welcome Dr. Arvind Sinha, Director of Engineering at the Helicopter Systems Division of the Australian Department of Defence. Dr. Sinha has a service record of over 42 years, which includes positions in defence forces, industry and academic institutions. He has held positions such as Officer Commanding of Military units in Operation; has three post-graduate degrees (Electronics Engineering, Aerospace Technology and Business administration) and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Multi-mission helicopter design. In 2016, he was honored with the “World’s Outstanding Aerospace Engineer Leadership Award” by the American Helicopter Society (AHS) International.

In this 30-minute lecture, Dr. Sinha advises GoFly competitors on how to approach design optimization–from the importance of simulation in the building process to strategies for optimizing thrust while minimizing noise. He also shares his own desire to “truly fly” in a way that humankind has yet to achieve, and why he’s personally inspired by GoFly innovators.   

There are many different designs that have the potential to successfully meet the GoFly parameters. The complete technical rules for the GoFly Prize can be found at Herox.com/GoFly/Guidelines. https://herox.com/GoFly/guidelines.

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 sixth in our series of Master Lectures, venture capitalist and CEO Jeremy Conrad reminds GoFly competitors that “if you can’t communicate, your startup doesn’t exist.” Conrad was a founding partner at Lemnos Labs, a hardware-focused seed stage venture with an extensive portfolio of aerospace, drone and robotics companies. Prior to Lemnos, he was an active duty United States Air Force officer working on the Airborne Laser Program.

In the past year, Conrad says he’s seen more aerospace startups pitched, founded and funded than ever before. Drawing from his own experience as a founder and that of founders he’s advised, he shares advice everything from recruiting your first 20 employees to building trust-based networks to building a personal brand through social media. Even if it’s not your natural inclination, Conrad urges competitors to strengthen their soft skills. Why? “As a founder,” he says, “it’s your job to make sure everyone knows what you’re doing.”