How Heart Aerospace is rewriting the rules of new aircraft development

In this episode, we speak with Anders Forslund, Co-founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace, who shares the radical transformation his electric aircraft company has undergone in the past year — relocating from Sweden to Los Angeles and fundamentally changing how aerospace companies operate in the 21st century.

Forslund discusses:

1. Why Heart moved its operations to the US despite strong European roots, driven by the need to access customers, suppliers, and investors in the world’s largest aerospace market.
2. How the industry’s talent crisis stems from decades without clean sheet aircraft development, and why bringing in top performers from SpaceX, Tesla, and other mission-driven technology companies is essential for attracting the right talent.
3. Why all aerospace companies are actually software companies, given that most aircraft delays and crashes today stem from software issues rather than structural failures, and how this demands in-house control of software.
4. Why companies should actively take on uncertainty rather than minimise it, viewing adaptability as more crucial than strength or intelligence in today’s rapidly changing world.
5. How the loss of regional connectivity serves as the “canary in the coal mine” for broader industry problems, and why this represents the natural entry point for introducing new technology and training the next generation of aerospace talent.
   
   

Forslund also reveals his seven-rule framework for modern aerospace product development and explains why focusing on building rather than predicting the future is the key to success.

If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Daniel Rosen Jacobson, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Elysian Aircraft, who discusses the startup’s unique approach to electric aviation. Check it out here. 

Learn more about the startups, strategists, and sceptics working to close the gap between growth and green ambition in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume Two’. Click here to learn more.

Links & more:

Heart Aerospace 

Heart Aerospace unveils full-scale 30-seat hybrid-electric aircraft demonstrator - GreenAir News 

Heart Aerospace relocates headquarters to Los Angeles - AviationSource News

Heart Aerospace to Launch World’s Largest Fully Electric Aircraft in 2025 - Aviacionline