Meet Our Team
“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.”
Steve Jobs - American entrepreneur
Project eFlight is the innovation of a hard-working, committed, world record breaking pilot, and Electrical Engineering student at Embry Riddle University in Daytona Beach. His name is Travis Ludlow and his passion for flight, the air we breathe and the world he saw during his around the world flight, directed him to join the search for a more sustainable future for aviation.
He noticed that despite a few new models of aircraft being produced, there was very little development for the ever-growing and major polluting General Aviation market. He knew this underserved gap in the market would need to be addressed, to ensure the sustainability of aviation.
At Embry-Riddle, Travis teamed up with Chris Lundgren, an Aeronautical Engineering student with the same passion for business, sustainability, and aviation. Together they brought together a group of dedicated and likeminded ERAU engineering students to help build the first US built GA/trainer and the perfect electric power train conversion kit for existing GA aircraft. Working on overall implementation, project planning and management, test procedures and execution, they will benefit from hands-on and research experience in electric aviation. Supporting these young entrepreneurial, Embry Riddle students is a select group of experts, making up an ‘Advisory Group’, which comprises of independent specialists, well recognised in the field of electric aviation in both the US and Europe.
Travis Ludlow
President/CEO/Founder
Travis is an Electrical Engineering student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In 2021 he became the Youngest Person to Fly Solo Around the World, it took him just 43 days, making him the fastest young pilot in the slowest plane. He has gone on to win multiple awards for his achievements and is a TEDx Talk speaker; speaking about sustainable aviation and inspiring young people to follow their dreams. Until moving to University in Florida, Travis was a British Government Aviation Ambassador for the Department of Transport and envoy for sustainable Aviation. He is a proud member of the Royal Aeronautical Society and was recently chosen to join Peter Diamendis’s exclusive Abundance 360 community. Travis continues to motivate young people in his talks all over the US.
Christopher Lundgren
Vice President
Growing up in Central Oregon Chris had a passion for aviation since he could talk, and ever since then he knew his life would revolve around aeronautics. With lots of hands-on experience around planes and other aeronautical tech, his background in the field is mostly applied. His other passions include wilderness exploration, mountaineering, sustainability, and business management. Now studying to major in Aerospace Engineering, His is aspiring to follow a career in Aerospace Business and Finance.
Professor Eduardo Rojas
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Faculty Advisor
Dr. Eduardo Rojas earned his Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Florida and is a well-established, dedicated, and valuable member of the faculty at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s College of Engineering. As an Associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, we couldn’t ask for a better Faculty Advisor. Dr. Rojas has made an unmistakably positive impact through his boundless energy, enthusiasm, and leadership. His ability to reach out across disciplinary silos to collaborate with colleagues in other fields will be invaluable in the success of Project eFlight.
Advisory Group
These industry professions are revolutionary leaders in electric aviation and form the beginning of our ‘Advisory Group’. They have been specifically selected to provide oversight, suggest and reviewing our strategies, and providing tactical guidance to the two projects that make up Project eFlight. More will be joining these industry experts over the coming weeks and months, as we build an ‘Advisory Group’ of incredible engineers and visionaries. They will be on hand to oversee any challenges during the technical research and the development of this project.
Guy Gratton
Associate Professor of Aviation and the Environment at Cranfield University
Dr Guy Gratton is the Associate Professor of Aviation and the Environment at Cranfield University and an Associate Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and program manager for the Enabling Aircraft Electrification (EnabEl) project. Most recently he has been program managing and been the senior test pilot for ‘The eKub’, a British designed and built all-electric airplane, which has already made a number of successful flights. Guy is a hard-working advocate of electric aviation, having achieved a significant milestone, with the successful of the eKub project; we are very lucky to have his expertise and support on Project eFlight.
Susan Ying
Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships for Ampaire, the leader in hybrid-electric propulsion systems
Dr. Susan Ying is the Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships for Ampaire, the leader in hybrid-electric propulsion systems. She is also a Director and Board member for the Lindbergh Foundation. Dr. Ying has devoted over 38 years to the aerospace industry, with experience at NASA and Boeing. With a deep passion for flight, Susan holds a Commercial Pilot License and is an FAA-Certified Flight Instructor. She received her Ph.D. and MS degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University and BS in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University.
Stjohn Youngman
Managing Director of ElectroFlight a technology and engineering
Stjohn Youngman is the Managing Director of ElectroFlight a technology and engineering services business specialising in high integrity, bespoke battery systems for aerospace. He is also the man behind the Rolls Royce ‘Spirit of innovation’, the fastest electric aircraft in the world. He was tasked with building and leading the team in the design, build and operation of this one-off, record-breaking aircraft. The advanced battery and propulsion technology developed for this helped set a new benchmark for battery electric aircraft performance. Stjohn’s expertise in building, arguably the best electric aircraft in the world, and his extensive knowledge of the latest aviation battery systems, makes him an invaluable addition Project eFlight advisory group.
