The Ways We Move +

Tell us more about yourself and what you would like to hear!This week on The Ways We Move, I sit down with Francois Lassale, the current CEO of VAI — Vertical Aviation International, formerly HAI — and it turned out to be one of the richest conversations we have had on this podcast.VAI represents the largest vertical lift association in the world, and Francois arrived at its helm at what he rightly calls an inflection point. Helicopters, drones, and eVTOLs are converging in the same airspace, with the same DNA and the same infrastructure challenges — and somebody needs to hold that community together. That is what VAI does. And Francois is the man who left Bali to do it.His background alone is worth the listen. Born in Zimbabwe to a French father and a South African mother of Dutch descent, raised on a farm where he learned Zulu, deployed to Angola as a soldier in a Zulu commando unit, then the Royal Air Force, then the French national reserve — all three commissions simultaneously. He flew Harriers. He was a VIP helicopter captain and Special Forces pilot. Then the airline world, the UAE Presidential Flight, offshore safety in the North Sea, and three helicopter companies across Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia — run from Bali. His wife has followed him around the world more than once and kept the house in Bali. He still owes her.In this episode we get into:Why VAI rebranded from HAI to VAI — and what vertical means for an industry that now includes drones, eVTOLs, and everything in betweenThe investment gap that should concern everyone: roughly $6.5 billion went into helicopter innovation over the last five years while $28.5 billion went into AAM — and infrastructure received almost none of eitherHow helicopters, drones, and eVTOLs share the same DNA and will operate in the same airspace — and why that makes VAI's institutional role more critical, not lessThe 10-year workforce cliff nobody is talking about: the average helicopter mechanic today is 56 years old, and the pipeline is not filling fast enough before AAM adds its own demand on topThe Docklands Railway story — how London's autonomous train went from nobody will get on it to nobody thinks twice — and what that tells us about public trust in autonomous aircraftWhy Florida leads the country in AAM infrastructure readiness, and why the airport funding model is the blueprint every other state should be following right nowThe FAA's $12.5 billion ATC modernization and what AI-driven airspace separation means for a sky shared by helicopters, drones, and eVTOLsWhy vertiport should become multiport — and the real complexity of building charging, fire suppression, and certification for an entirely new class of aircraft into existing infrastructureVAI's data-sharing platform: anonymous, non-judgmental, benchmarking-driven — and why sharing safety data is the single most powerful thing an operator can do to protect their business and their industryWhy safety is the currency of credibility — not a compliance checkbox, not a marketing lineFrancois closes with the line he carried out of the Royal Air Force: keep the blue side up. And the reminder that none of this — not the aircraft, not the airspace, not the infrastructure, not the public trust — gets built by anyone working alone.CHAPTER INDEX00:00 Introduction 00:06 Episode overview and guest introduction 03:15 Welcome Francois Lassale 03:29 Growing up in Zimbabwe, learning Zulu, serving in Angola 05:09 The Royal Air Force, Harriers, and the path to helicopters 06:00 VIP pilot, Special Forces, and the airline world 06:52 UAE Presidential Flight and the move to America 07:20 Offshore safety with Helioshore: oil, gas, and wind 07:48 Running helicopter operations across Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia 08:05 Why VAI came calling — and why Francois left Bali 10:20 Replacing James Viola at the helm of the world's largest vertical lift association 11:31 The VAI mission: bringing the full vertical lift community together 12:35 Helicopters, drones, and eVTOLs: shared DNA, shared airspace 15:23 Nobody can do this alone: the collaboration imperative 16:17 The investment gap: $6.5B for helicopters vs $28.5B for AAM 17:30 The FAA's $12.5B ATC modernization and what it means for shared airspace 19:28 VAI's role: keeping heliports open and converting them to multiports 20:39 ACAS, TCAS, and AI-driven separation in congested airspace 23:25 Why vertiport should become multiport 24:35 Infrastructure priorities: energy, public transport, and the full ecosystem 25:27 VAI's five strategic initiatives and five-year plan 26:43 The 10-year workforce cliff: average mechanic age is 56 28:37 School visits, scholarships, and Rotor's autonomous Robinson helicopter 31:27 The US vs. Europe infrastructure investment gap — and why it exists 33:50 Why infrastructure is less attractive to investors than aircraft 35:06 Florida as the model state: the airport funding blueprint for AAM 38:35 The Docklands Railway story: public trust and the autonomous transition 40:18 Horses, steam engines, EVs, and now eVTOLs: how technology adoption always goes 41:24 Francois goes electric: the Porsche Taycan 42:41 What gets Francois out of bed: leaving Bali for Virginia to help lead a global industry 46:09 Key takeaways: collaboration and safety as the currency of credibility 47:24 VAI's data-driven approach and the benchmarking platform 49:09 Start with the question, then collect the data 50:32 Making the invisible visible: advocacy for the vertical lift industry 51:35 Closing: keep the blue side up

Tell us more about yourself and what you would like to hear!In this episode of The Ways We Move, Nicolas Zart speaks with Gaël Le Bris of WSP about the infrastructure side of advanced air mobility.They explore airport readiness, vertiports, charging needs, U.S. vs. Europe, and why infrastructure is the glue that makes AAM possible.Listen now and follow the show for more conversations on aviation, infrastructure, and emerging mobility.00:00 Intro and schedule update00:32 Guest intro: Gaël Le Bris00:59 Infrastructure vs vehicles01:28 U.S. vs Europe02:18 Gaël Le Bris joins05:34 AAM challenges12:57 Investment gap17:24 AAM examples24:35 Florida’s role30:03 European perspective35:24 Global collaboration45:24 Personal reflections54:14 Closing thoughtsSee our Patreon site for more: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheWaysWeMove And watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheWaysWeMove

Tell us more about yourself and what you would like to hear!Brent Klavon, Chief Strategy Officer at ANRA Technologies, joins The Ways We Move to pull back the curtain on Uncrewed Traffic Management (UTM) — the invisible infrastructure that lets drones, delivery services, and first responders safely share the same airspace. From Amazon Prime Air to Dubai's air navigation system to Counter-UAS security at the FIFA World Cup, ANRA is operating at the intersection of technology, regulation, and global airspace complexity. And on AI? Brent has a refreshingly honest take. 00:00 Introduction — Season 2 update and two-week hiatus explained 03:28 Meet Brent Klaxon — Chief Strategy Officer, ANRA Technologies 03:56 How ANRA Was Founded: Garage startup to NASA partnership (2015) 05:04 What Is UTM? Uncrewed Traffic Management explained simply 09:00 How drones fit into already-crowded airspace 11:46 US airspace structure and why traditional ATC doesn't scale to drones 13:01 The Three-Circle Framework: Technology, Standards, and Policy 17:01 Real-world UTM today: Amazon Prime Air flying thousands of flights daily18:23 Drone as First Responder — prioritization when the lights come on 21:09 New York Power Authority: UTM for utility infrastructure at scale 22:22 GPS spoofing, cybersecurity, and how ANRA monitors system health 25:10 AI in UTM — not a silver bullet: what it actually does (and doesn't) 25:37 EASA U-Space certification — first and only UTM provider in Europe 28:19 Building an agnostic global platform: tailoring UTM for each market 29:13 The Dubai project and the impact of regional conflict on delivery 34:08 Counter-UAS at the FIFA World Cup 2026: protecting shared airspace 38:07 Military and dual-use: where the lines are blurring 39:25 Data privacy, ownership, and the coming FAA data rule. Competition and the state of the UTM market. Brent's personal note — lessons from seven years building ANRA 🔗 ElectricAirMobility.news 🔗 ANRA Technologies: anratechnologies.com 🎙️ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube 🤝 Support on Patreon: patreon.com/c/TheWaysWeMove

Tell us more about yourself and what you would like to hear!Matt Lapin is a counsel at Wiley Rein in Washington DC with a long background in international trade law — and in a sector where supply chain complexity, China de-risking, rare earth dependencies, and regulatory actions are reshaping everything, his perspective cuts through in ways the standard industry coverage doesn't reach.We cover what supply chain actually means for a disruptive emerging technology, why COVID was the first real proof that globalized supply chains were more fragile than anyone admitted, and how the US-China geopolitical conflict is producing both constraint and genuine opportunity for AAM manufacturers and operators.Matt breaks down the FCC's action against DJI, what the American Drone Dominance executive order signals about how the current administration views eVTOL, and why reading the policy two levels underneath the headline is the most important analytical skill anyone in this sector can develop right now.His closing advice: understand the rules that are actually in play — not the ones you assumed were in play a year ago — and challenge every first principle your strategy was built on, because uncertainty is no longer the exception. It's the operating condition.In this episode:0:00 — The Trade Law Nerd Who Ended Up in Advanced Air Mobility0:08 — Inside Wiley Rein: How International Trade Law Shapes Emerging Tech1:08 — What "Supply Chain" Actually Means — And Why Everyone Gets It Wrong3:22 — COVID's Real Legacy: The First Stress Test of Globalized Supply Chains4:14 — The China Problem Is a Supply Chain Problem — And It's Not Going Away5:40 — De-risking Without Decoupling: Why a Clean Break From China Isn't Happening7:29 — Run Faster or Trip the Other Guy: How Policy Levers Actually Work9:03 — What's Good for America Needs to Be Good for the Industry — Not the Other Way Around11:25 — When the Government Decides Your Sector Is a National Security Asset13:17 — The FCC's DJI Move: How a Regulatory Constraint Created a Domestic Drone Opportunity15:39 — Rare Earths, Export Controls, and the Negotiation Hiding Inside the Tariff War17:56 — How to Build Strategy When Uncertainty Is the Operating Condition20:21 — The Rubik's Cube Mindset: Matt's Two Takeaways for Anyone in This IndustryWatch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Bk51yRB4ZQQAnd for previous episodes of the Ways We Move on your favorite podcast platforms, see: ▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheWaysWeMove📺🔊 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-ways-we-move/id1797599255 🔊🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4V0qe3eZqublwn6dasXWCf 🎧🎙️ Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/cd3349e1-275f-4691-ae38-f1b6a153d5e5/the-ways-we-move 🎙️📻 iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-ways-we-move-268614085/ 📻🌱 Buzzsprout: https://thewayswemove.buzzsprout.com/ 🗣️🎬 Patreon education and news analysis! https://www.patreon.com/c/TheWaysWeMove 🔒📢 Support now: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheWaysWeMoveSubscribe for more insights into the future of mobility and support the show! https://www.buzzsprout.com/2428454/supporters/new 📡