The Vertical Space
The Vertical Space is a podcast at the intersection of technology and flight, featuring deep dives with innovators, early adopters, and industry leaders.
We talk about the radical impact that technology is creating as it disrupts flight, enabling new ways to access the vertical space to improve our lives - from small drones to large aircraft. Our guests are operators and innovators across the value chain: airframers, technologists, data and service providers, as well as end users.
Episodes
81 episodes
#81 Brian Streem, Vermeer: An American founder’s move to Ukraine to build drone tech
In this episode, we speak with Brian Streem, Founder and CEO of Vermeer, about his journey from film production to pioneering drone technology in Ukraine’s defense ecosystem. Brian shares why he relocated to Kyiv, how he navigates the challenge...
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Episode 81
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1:18:41
#80 Joerg Dittrich, JARUS & DLR: Drones, risk, and SORA 3.0
In this episode, we sit down with Joerg Dittrich, a leading expert in drone regulations and one of the minds behind the SORA framework. Joerg shares insights on the evolution of drone integration, the development of the specific drone category,...
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Episode 80
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1:26:24
#79 Bob Poole, Reason Foundation: The pros and cons of privatizing airports
In this episode we welcome Bob Poole, Director of Transportation Policy and the Searle Freedom Trust Transportation Fellow at the Reason Foundation, who brings his expertise on the complex and often debated topic of airport privatization. We di...
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Episode 79
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1:20:05
#78 Montie Brewer: Interview with former Air Canada CEO
In this episode we’re joined by Montie Brewer, former President and CEO of Air Canada, who provides a glimpse into the airline industry from the vantage point of a major airline leader. Montie draws on his experience as a CEO to share insights ...
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Episode 78
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1:11:10
#77 Charlton Evans, End State Solutions: Drone boxes, FAA waivers and exemptions, Part 108
In this episode, we dive into the FAA's evolving approach to approving waivers and exemptions for complex drone operations, including beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), 1:many operations, and broadly airspace integration over the past 18 mont...
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Episode 77
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1:03:17
#76 General James Poss: Affordable Mass and Counter-UAS
Two years ago, we hosted Gen. James Poss to discuss the evolution of drone technologies, their adoption in the U.S. military, and their early use in the war in Ukraine. With significant advancements since then - especially in Ukraine's use of d...
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Episode 76
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1:17:04
#75 Kevin Noertker, Ampaire: Scaling electric aviation with hybrid-electric flight
In this episode of The Vertical Space, we sit down with Kevin Noertker, Co-founder and CEO of Ampaire, to explore the evolving landscape of electric aviation. Kevin shares his perspective on the industry's progress and challenges, particularly ...
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Episode 75
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1:21:26
#74 Rob Britton: "Commercial Aviation and AAM: Prudent Optimism"
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Rob Britton, Principal of AirLearn, who brings five decades of experience in commercial aviation. This fascinating conversation covers the history and future of the airline business, the significance of the...
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Episode 74
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1:24:16
#73 Jeff Luckett, UPS Flight Forward: An inside perspective on early adoption of UAS and AAM in cargo
Welcome back to The Vertical Space! In this episode, we’re thrilled to bring you a conversation with Jeff Luckett, President and founding member of UPS Flight Forward, a subsidiary of UPS. Since our podcast's inception in 2021, we’ve featured n...
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Episode 73
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1:07:12
#72 Srdjan Kovacevic, Orqa: The evolution of drones, vertical integration, and competing with DJI
In this episode, we’re excited to host Srdjan Kovacevic, CEO and co-founder of Orqa. Despite a low public profile, this Croatian team has made significant waves, initially through ultra-low latency FPV goggles for drone racing and now by buildi...
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Episode 72
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1:13:32
#71 Libby Bahat, Israeli Civil Aviation Authority: Lessons learned from the Israeli National Drone Initiative
Welcome back to The Vertical Space! In this episode, we sit down with Libby Bahat, Head of the Aerial Infrastructure Department of the Israeli Civil Aviation Authority. Join us as we delve into what makes Israeli airspace unique, given its posi...
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Episode 71
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1:11:15
#70 Bobby Healy, Manna: Unveiling the unit economics behind profitable drone delivery
Welcome back to The Vertical Space! In this episode, we reconnect with Bobby Healy, CEO and Founder of Manna Drone Delivery. Bobby returns to discuss how Manna has not only met but exceeded initial expectations over the past two years. He dives...
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Episode 70
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1:27:32
#69 David Stepanek, Bristow: A philosophical guide for early AAM operations
We are happy to welcome back David Stepanek, Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer of Bristow. With his extensive experience and pragmatic insights, David provides a comprehensive view of the evolution and future of advanced...
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Episode 69
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1:12:56
#68 Don Berchoff, TruWeather: Weather imposes uncertainty and uncertainty costs money
Welcome back to The Vertical Space! In this episode, we chat with Don Berchoff, CEO of TruWeather, about the critical impact of weather on aviation. Don highlights how weather-induced uncertainty costs the industry billions and shares staggerin...
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Episode 68
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1:14:25
#67 Niels Kalshoven, Port of Rotterdam: Drone Port Operations
Welcome back to The Vertical Space and our discussion with Niels Kalshoven, Head of Drone Innovation Program at Port of Rotterdam and Co-founder Drone Port Rotterdam. This is one of the few discussions where we're speaking with someone without ...
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Episode 67
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1:02:22
#66 Dan Magy: From Citadel to Firestorm, a journey through drone and counter-drone technology
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...
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Episode 66
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1:00:06
#65 Andrew Coleman: Unpacking the Value of Data in Aviation
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, de...
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Episode 65
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1:06:13
#64 Lorne Cass: Aviation Operations; Today's Lessons for Tomorrow's Operators
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 aviati...
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Episode 64
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1:22:17
#63 Uma Subramanian, Surya Ventures: Commercial air travel innovation under attack
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...
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Episode 63
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58:55
#62 Andrew Hately, Eurocontrol: U-Space, UTM, and the integrated airspace
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 ...
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Episode 62
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1:26:01
#61 Eric Leopold, Threedot (ex-IATA): Air transport in the digital age
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 priorit...
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Episode 61
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1:07:40
#60 Eric Watson, Zipline: Drone delivery and the Zipline experience
Welcome to our conversation with Eric Watson from Zipline. You can’t help but be impressed with the inspiring and important work that Zipline has done with their partners in Africa – with medical and healthcare outcomes that are rem...
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1:17:54
#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 readines...
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Episode 59
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1:14:21
#58 Kara Kramer, AeroVironment: A deep dive into the Replicator initiative and future of military UAS
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 s...
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Episode 58
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1:12:46
#57 Valerie Manning, Overair: Reality Check On Commercializing eVTOLs
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 discussio...
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Episode 57
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1:12:23