Join us for our upcoming Expert Lectures in June!
June 5 @11:00am ET
Title: Sim to Sky: Engineering Safer eVTOLs
Bio: Kristina Menton, Head of Flight, Pivotal Kristina Menton is a core member of the Pivotal team, where she’s spent nearly a decade leading flight testing, pilot training, regulatory affairs, and customer success. Prior to her tenure at Pivotal, Kristina worked in R&D at Pratt & Whitney and GE Power. Recognized for her impact at the intersection of emerging technology and operations, Kristina was named one of the Globe and Mail’s Top 50 Canadian Changemakers in 2022. A passionate aviator, she’s a licensed private pilot and experienced eVTOL pilot. Outside of work, Kristina is an avid snowboarder, kitesurfer, and cyclist — and shares her adventures with her beach-loving dog, Maple. Kristina holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering summa cum laude from the University of Toronto and was a fellow in the Leaders for Global Operations program at MIT Sloan.
How do we design aircraft that are safe before they ever leave the ground? In this talk, Kristina Menton shares how simulation, flight testing, and pilot-in-the-loop design come together to build safety into next-generation eVTOLs.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/4117455993442/WN_MqbSbVhfRJu-e3uILzTOMA
June 10 @12:00pm ET
Title: Iridium and GoAERO
Bio: Joe Darden is the Director of Aviation and Business Development for Iridium Communications Inc., the only company that offers truly global satellite communications. In his role, he is responsible for new business development in the Iridium Aviation line of business. Prior to joining Iridium in 2019, Mr. Darden held several roles in the wireless telecommunication and manufacturing industries, including T-Mobile (formerly Sprint, formerly Nextel) and Cooper Industries. In addition to developing solutions and acquiring customers in all Aviation segments, Mr. Darden is leading Iridium’s Autonomous/Remotely Piloted Vehicle development strategy. He also serves on the Executive Board for AUVSI’s Washington DC Metro Chapter, on RTCA Special Committee 228 (WG2 UAS Command/Control), ASTM’s F38 Working Groups, ANSI’s UAS Collaborative Working Groups and HSAC’s UAS Committee and is the UAS Representative on the Loudoun County Rural Economic Development Committee. Mr. Darden has over 25 years of experience in sales, channel development and business development for advanced wireless communications solutions in enterprise, government and wholesale sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government with an Economics Minor from Sacramento State. Mr. Darden is a Student Pilot (Private) and is an FAA Certified Part 107 Pilot with over 300 flight hours.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8317485625557/WN_h1XHFIKKTVCjC_32HdT_JA
June 24 @ 11:30am ET
Title: Smart, Small, Safe Vision Systems for AAM
Bio:
Dr. Niclas Mrotzek, Head of Camera Technologies, studied and earned his doctorate at the Georg August University in Göttingen at the Institute for Astrophysics in the field of space weather research. His studies focused on the prediction of Earth-directed CMEs to protect satellites and airborne electronics. Since 2021, he has been responsible at Kappa for the development of VTOL camera systems in the areas of ATOL, DVE, and Surround view systems. The development focus is on the design and optimization of 24/7 vision systems for airborne applications.
Paul Staab, Head of V&V Department, graduated from the University HAWK in Göttingen with a Master of Engineering in electrical engineering/engineering informatics. He started working at Kappa 10 years ago and was a founding member of the Verification and Validation department. For the past 5 years, Paul has been at the helm of the V&V department. The development of an automated test infrastructure as well as the efficient execution of the DO-178C process, were among the main activities during this time. As a V&V engineer, he has verified and validated several DO-178C DAL-D and DAL-C aviation vision systems and successfully lead the certification process.
Olaf Schultz, Business Development Manager Autonomous Flight, studied Mechanical Engineering (bachelor’s degree) at the Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences before he moved after two industrial sales positions into Aerospace and Defence. Since 1999 Olaf has been promoting several different technologies and services within A&D Markets, including Filtration Products, LED-Lighting, EMS, Electrical Connectors and now Smart Vision Systems for Aerospace applications. The main goal at Kappa is to form a new product family of Vision Systems to support the needs and requirements of the Autonomy within the AAM Industry.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/6517467252316/WN_BEiemvH_RE-swEFvF9qgvw
REMINDER: Stage 2 Registration Documents are available here.
Benefits for Teams can be found here.
