Established Aerospace Executive Climbs Aboard To Bring Blackfly To Market

Opener, a California-based company developing aerial vehicles for consumer travel, has appointed aerospace industry veteran and innovator, Ben Diachun to the senior leadership team as president. Diachun is coming to Opener from Scaled Composites, the aerospace company that worked with the late Paul Allen to design and fly SpaceShipOne, an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft.  Mr. Diachun will report to Marcus Leng, Opener founder and CEO, and inventor of BlackFly, the world’s first all-electric fixed-wing personal ultralight vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicle.

“Ben Diachun’s spark of genius enhances any company he joins,” said Burt Rutan, the legendary American aerospace engineer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. “As an engineer, Ben played a key role in the creation of 14 revolutionary experimental aircraft, and as the president of Scaled Composites, he developed a talented team, explored new innovations and ensured our growth.”

Opener’s BlackFly is a single-seat electric Personal Aerial Vehicle (ePAV) designed and built for a new world of three-dimensional transportation. The vehicles are simple to master and require no formal licensing or special skills to operate safely in the USA. BlackFly is designed to easily takeoff and land on small grass areas and travel distances of up to 25 miles at a speed of 62 mph. For the past 10 years, safety has been and will continue to be the primary focus in the development of this new technology.

“Advancements in both propulsion systems and computing performance are fueling rapid developments in commercial aerospace, high speed transport and personal air vehicle travel. Opener is the leader with Blackfly,” said Ben Diachun. “As Opener’s president, my goal is to take what has been accomplished by this amazing team to the next level, and successfully bring a safe and affordable flying vehicle to market.”

“Ben Diachun knows what it takes to introduce innovative and transformative technology in a controlled and responsible manner,” said Marcus Leng. “Ben has the kind of entrepreneurial mindset that creates sustainable, high-growth aeronautics companies, and we are proud to have him on the Opener team.”

(Source: Opener news release. Images provided)

FMI: www.opener.aero