Advanced Air Mobility - The Future of Flight is Arriving in Unexpected Ways

This fireside chat between Peter H. Schmidt and John Williams will explore Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), NASA’s term for the air transportation system of the future, which they envision will include revolutionary options for high- and low-altitude passenger transport, cargo delivery, and public service capabilities. Six technology areas are key to AAM: High Speed VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing), Hydrogen Aircraft, Electric Aircraft, eVTOLs (electric), Autonomous Flight, and Sustainable Aviation Fuel.  We will discuss the technological advancements and limitations, regulatory challenges, and market dynamics that are shaping this future.  Join us to understand how AAM is poised to upend travel norms, as well as military ops, by offering safe, sustainable, efficient, and speedy aerial transportation alternatives.

6:00 - 6:30PM | Networking & Refreshments          

6:30 - 8:00PM | Fireside Chat 

BIOS

Peter H. Schmidt  

Co-founder and COO | Transcend Air

Peter H. Schmidt, Co-Founder and COO of Transcend Air, is an entrepreneur and executive with startup, turn-around, and large enterprise experience. Schmidt’s aviation roles have included sUAS test pilot, with two first flights; President & COO of Linear Air, Eclipse 500 operator and Part 135 online charter marketplace; COO of Jet Advisors, a business aviation consultancy; and SVP of National Aviation Academy, the second largest Part 147 aviation mechanic school in the U.S. In his pre-aviation career, Schmidt led several networking and embedded systems companies, including as CTO North America for Ipanema Technologies, CEO of Echo Engineering, Division Manager of Teradyne, and Co-Founder and President of Midnight Networks. An aerobatic pilot, Schmidt did his undergrad in computer science and his masters degree in management, both at MIT. He currently serves as Chair of the Electric Flight Test Committee of the E-VTOL Flight Test Council.

John I. Williams, Jr. | Event Moderator Former CEO | Sentient Jet Founding President | Massachusetts Business Aviation Association

John I. Williams, Jr. is former CEO of Sentient Jet and was the founding President of the Massachusetts Business Aviation Association.  He serves on the board of directors of Linear Air, an online marketplace for charter aircraft.

John is also a highly-experienced pilot. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot certificate from the FAA, with privileges to operate both single- and multi-engine aircraft.  He is the proud owner of a Beechcraft Bonanza airplane based at Hanscom Field in Bedford, MA.  Over the past 40 years of flying, he has amassed approximately 3,000 hours of flight time, including many trips throughout both New England and the Middle Atlantic region.  He has flown as far south as Florida and as far west as Oshkosh, WI and western Missouri. John serves on the board of directors of the American Bonanza Society (ABS) and the ABS Air Safety Foundation.  He holds a JD from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is a co-president of the HBS Association of Boston