2021 Webinar Archive or 2020 Webinar Archive pages, or check out all of our videos on the VFS Video Library page!
The Vertical Flight Society is hosting virtual technical sessions, workshops, presentations and interviews on timely and relevant topics in VTOL and eVTOL. These webinars are hosted either by VFS headquarters or by our chapters around the world. There are sponsorship opportunities for each of the webinars.
The Vertical Flight Society has been hosting virtual technical sessions, workshops, presentations and interviews on timely and relevant topics in VTOL and eVTOL. These webinars were hosted either by VFS headquarters or by our chapters around the world.
These programs provide important information to help the community continue advancing vertical flight.
| Dec. 6: Flight Controls and Sim Research at PSU VLRCOE, presented by the VFS Redstone Chapter 1900-2000 EDT/1800-1900 CDT/1600-1700 PDT/0000-0100 UTC Speaker: Dr. Joe Horn, Professor, Penn State  Details coming soon... Please note: when registering and attending, please disable any active VPNs as they interfere with the webinar tool. (the tool returns a message "Please come back later ...") |
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| Dec. 7: Teledyne FLIR - Leading Perception and Awareness Solutions, presented by the VFS Arizona, Philadelphia and Redstone Chapters 1800-1900 EDT/1700-1800 CDT/1600-1700 PDT/2300-0000 UTC Speaker: Mr. Stuart Hartwell, Director, Army Business Development, Teledyne FLIR Defense Technologies  A discussion on Teledyne’s acquisition of FLIR Systems and the resulting business. High-level overview of Teledyne FLIR’s product lines and emerging aerospace technologies. Please note: when registering and attending, please disable any active VPNs as they interfere with the webinar tool. (the tool returns a message "Please come back later ...") |
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| Dec. 8: Northeast Region Virtual Robert L. Lichten Competition, hosted by the VFS Stratford Chapter 1800-1900 EDT/1700-1800 CDT/1600-1700 PDT/2300-0000 UTC Presentations: Mary DaSilva “Paint Scheme & Markings Digital Transformation” Alexander Stillman “Load Component Analysis of a Quad-Rotor Wind Turbine” Stuart Vardy “Desktop Virtual Reality Design”  Please note: when registering and attending, please disable any active VPNs as they interfere with the webinar tool. (the tool returns a message "Please come back later ...") |
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| There will be a limited number of sponsorships available. Contact Jim Sherman to apply for a sponsorship and register. Platinum Sponsorship: $5,000 — includes logo on the program promotions, 2 minute video promotion at the start of the session. (Subject to approval and availability.) |
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Joseph F. Horn is a Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Penn State University and Associate Director of the Penn State Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence. He conducts teaching and research in the areas of flight dynamics, modeling & simulation, controls, handling qualities, and autonomy with emphasis on rotary-wing vehicle applications. Dr. Horn received his PhD from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1999 and has five years of experience in the rotorcraft industry in addition to his 19 years at Penn State. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and received the 2017 AIAA de Florez Award for Flight Simulation. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Helicopter Society from 2016 to 2019, and he is currently the Deputy Technical Director of Aeromechanics for the Vertical Flight Society.
Kevin Chen is currently the D. Reid Weedon, Jr. ’41 Career Development Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT, USA. He received his Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences at Harvard University in 2017 and his bachelor’s degree in Applied and Engineering Physics from Cornell University in 2012. His research interests include developing high bandwidth and robust soft actuators for microrobot manipulation and locomotion. He has published in top journals including Nature, Science Robotics, PNAS, Nature Communications, IEEE TR-O, and Journal of Fluid Mechanics. He is a recipient of the RAL 2020 best paper award, the IROS 2015 best student paper award, and a Harvard Teaching Excellence Award.
Mr. Yann Lavallee has been flying helicopters and airplanes for more than 25 years. He has flown missions in more than 20 countries using multiple helicopter models and he has been a test pilot with Bell Textron since 2008. With his experience working for both helicopter operators and OEMs, Yann provides guidance to engineering development teams for new product concepts in addition to his test pilot duties. He has also acted as a Transport Canada Certification Delegate on multiple certification projects like the Bell 412, 429, the Bell 407 GX, Xi, Autopilots and the Bell 505. Apart from the certification of commercial projects, Yann is actively involved in the development and testing of the innovative technologies such as hybrid electric systems and UAVs. He was the first pilot to fly the Electrically Distributed Anti-Torque (EDAT) system and was a key part of the development team.
Since 1996 Giorgio has been at the helm of the International Test Pilots School (ITPS), one of only four fully accredited schools of flight testing in the world. His career spans forty years commencing with an aircraft maintenance apprenticeship in 1981, earning a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and a Post Graduate Certificate in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Bristol. His career in flight testing started in 1986 with the Atlas Aircraft Corporation in South Africa participating in both fixed wing and rotary wing flight tests on the SA332 Oryx, Dassault Mirage and AS332 Puma. Departing South Africa in 1990 he enjoyed stints at Aermacchi in Italy, National Test Pilots School in the USA before joining ITPS at Cranfield, (UK) in 1991. He has participated in flight tests at Embraer, IPTN Indonesia, Alenia & Agusta (now Leonardo), Grob in Germany, Diamond Aircraft in Austria and was responsible as Manager of Flight Test for the D-Jet Proof of concept flight tests in Canada. Giorgio established the ITPS Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) program in 2014, to meet requirements from the South Korean Air Force and Turkish Aerospace Industries. He has been the driving force behind the development of these new offerings to keep up with industry innovation, winning the attention and participation of next generation manufacturers such as Lilium & Pipistrel. He actively lectures on UAS/UAM airworthiness and certification and is launching a new 24-week EASA CAT-2 compliant UAS flight test course. Giorgio is an Associate Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and a Senior Member of the Society of Flight Test Engineers.
Stella-Marissa Hughes leads Strategy and Business Development for Advanced Air Mobility at CAE. Stella is an aerospace engineer who joined CAE in Engineering to analyze R&D strategy. For the past 5 years, she has supported the growth of the Civil division through roles in sales, business development, acquisitions, venture capital, and now is looking at new ways to apply CAE’s technologies, services, and capabilities to the Advanced Air Mobility new market. Stella holds bachelors & master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from McGill University in Montreal, is credited with numerous academic publications and student awards, and more recently was selected to be parts of CAE’s Dare program aimed at empowering women in high performance careers.
David Coleman is a Fall 2021 PhD graduate of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University and a member of the Advanced Vertical Flight Laboratory. He has worked on the design and development of several novel vertical flight concepts, including a hover capable robotic hummingbird, cyclocopters, and other rotary-wing based aircraft. Recently, he developed a personal electric helicopter with his advisor, Dr. Benedict and other labmates in the Boeing GoFly competition. His many accolades include winner of three best paper awards at VFS Forum, best graduate student paper at 2018 AIAA Scitech, and VFF fellowships at both the MS and PhD levels. In 2021, this presentation won Best Paper in the eVTOL category at Forum 77.
Sam Whitehorn has spent his more than 30-year career addressing tough legal and policy issues. He has been deeply involved in infrastructure, transportation and technology sectors and their intersection for years. Co-founding Elevate will allow him to continue to collaborate and craft responsible solutions to those issues. Sam has been in the trenches on transportation security, leading the effort to create the Transportation Security Administration after 9-11, and knows the rigors and pressures of the Senate and House intimately. He has worked on issues like noise, transportation funding, and safety in a host of sectors over the years.
Kelly Lugar has been involved in government relations for 25 years in Washington, DC, focusing on energy and environmental matters. Her broad experience in energy legislative and regulatory matters includes strategy formulation, policy and issue advice, and outreach to key policymakers in Washington. She has a proven track record of impacting policy, and has represented, utilities, public power trade associations, nonprofit organizations and energy companies before Congress and the executive branch.
Stuart is currently the Director of Army Business Development at Teledyne FLIR where he is responsible for strategic growth and customer support on defense programs. Prior, Stuart worked for Erickson Incorporated (Aviation Services) as the Director of DNS Sales and Parker Lord as the Sr. Manger of Defense Business Development. Stuart has over 35 years’ experience in Aerospace Defense Systems. A retired Army Aviator, Stuart is also the President of the Night Stalker Association Huntsville Chapter. Stuart has advanced degrees from Auburn University and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.