Eminent leaders in the aviation industry presented inventive and leading-edge developments, facts and direction for the future in the aviation industry at the recent Lindbergh Innovation Forum, held at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI on July 24th 2018.
Drawing from those leading the innovation efforts at Boeing, UBER Elevate, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and six other pathfinding efforts, the Lindbergh Innovation Forum offered a unique, global platform that featured breakthrough innovation in aviation, from a name that is synonymous with aviation transformation.
At EAA AirVenture, nine respected aerospace industry pioneers and leaders presented on new innovations such as the future of electric flight, the role of autonomy in improving safety, additive manufacturing in aviation, advanced control systems and breakthrough designs. All of these captivating presentations are being made available, along with much more content, at the Lindbergh Innovation Forum’s website at http://lindbergh.aero.
“The Lindbergh Innovation Forum turned out very, very well,” said John Petersen, Chairman of the Lindbergh Foundation. “What it allows you to do is get a whole lot of very creative people who are out on the edge of new ideas and discovery and invention in the aviation space, who are literally building the outline of where the industry is going to go. You get a whole different perspective than just going to the presentations you usually find at conferences like this.”
The presentations featured a number breakthrough ideas. Don Hillebrand from Argonne National Laboratory challenged the standing room only audience to keep pushing the boundaries of aviation in saying – “We’re going to deliver the battery (that aviation needs). The question is what will you do with it?” Roland Gerhards from the ZAL Centre of Applied Aeronautical Research in Germany greatly impressed attendees with a tour-de-force across the leading edge of additive manufacturing. Dr. Pat Anderson of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University put recent innovations in context – “Its thinking about aviation as an entire control volume around the world instead of the control volume around the engine or the airplane.” All the speakers had a strong impact on the audience. According to one of the attendees, “I really felt like I was listening and sitting at the feet of Thomas Edison and the Wright brothers and Steve Jobs all in one.”
Having demonstrated its impact, the Lindbergh Innovation Forum is now set to expand globally. Planned locations in 2019 include the AIAA SciTech Forum in San Diego, AERO Friedrichshafen in Germany and EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh. Discussions are underway with a number of other major aviation venues. Audiences at Lindbergh Innovation Forum events will consist of aircraft owners, pilots, aviation executives, manufacturers, suppliers, operators, and enthusiasts.
