“Electric Airplanes: Are they Real? Are they a Good Idea?” Talk at MBL

 
John Langford, a son of West Falmouth, is the speaker at the Marine Biological Laboratory’s Falmouth Forum in the Cornelia Clapp Auditorium at MBL on Friday, June 3rd at 7:30pm. His topic is “Electric Airplanes: Are they Real? Are they a Good Idea?”
Electric cars are a rapidly growing part of the transportation system. What about electric airplanes? Do they make sense too?
John Langford is the founder and CEO of Electra.aero, a startup developing sustainable aviation solutions through its hybrid electric aircraft focused on regional mobility. Previously he founded Aurora, a company that pioneered advanced robotic aircraft, and Athena Technologies, which developed advanced flight control solutions. He sold Aurora to Boeing and Athena to Rockwell Collins.
A native of Atlanta, Georgia and now a resident of Falls Church, Virginia, he grew up spending part of each summer in West Falmouth on land bought by his great, great grandfather Jacob Sloat Fassett in the early 20th century. Only the foundation of the original house remains but John is one of several of Jacob Fassett’s descendants to have houses on the land bordering Buzzards Bay. In fact when his family gathers from around the country it comes home to West Falmouth. This is also where he first became fascinated with rockets in the 1960s when the United States entered the space program. His fascination took him to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where his studies were diverted to aerospace and aviation.
He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautics & Astronautics, Masters in Defense Policy, Masters in Aeronautics & Astronautics, and Doctorate in Aeronautics and Public Policy from MIT.  While at MIT, he led a series of human-powered aircraft projects, culminating in the Daedalus Project, which shattered the world distance and endurance records for human-powered flight with a 72-mile flight between the Greek islands of Crete and Santorini in 1988.
John is a cheerful optimist who looks to the next generation to make the world a better place. He has created a multi-faceted family business. Both of his sons and a daughter-in-law direct parts of it while he now concentrates on Electra.aero.