A few weeks ago, I was invited to attend a pitch session to venture capitalists and angel investors by aerospace entrepreneurs and startups. The session was held by Starburst Accelerator, a company that helps provide seed funding for aerospace, defense and security startups, at Northrop Grumman facilities in Los Angeles. I’d never been to a pitch event, so I thought it would be worthwhile, and some of the companies were giving presentations on intriguing aerospace technologies.
Everyone attending was under strict orders to relinquish any type of cellphone, laptop, recording device, camera and so on or risk getting kicked out of the auditorium. A large pile of electronic devices pasted with identifying sticky notes covered a table outside the auditorium. Many of us commented how odd we felt without instant access to our devices, but that’s life in the top-secret government contracting aerospace world.
Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.
