Beth Flippo Of Drone Express On The Future Of Aviation and Aviation Tech

An Interview With David Leichner

Patience is key. Everything in aviation takes time — a lot of time. Being a part of the aviation community is a privilege that is earned through dedication and hard work. Aviation is an exclusive club founded by incredible pioneers that looked up at the sky and said, “Caelum certe patet.” — The skies lie open.

As part of our series about “The Future Of Aviation”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Beth Flippo, CEO of Drone Express.

Beth Flippo is the CEO of Drone Express, a logistics company that uses autonomous airborne drones for last-mile delivery. Beth is an accomplished engineer with expertise in embedded software for microelectronics and RF solutions. A New Yorker at heart, she currently resides in Dayton Ohio with her four young children and exceptionally supportive husband.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

The most interesting story that happened since I started my career is also the most tragic. I was working at Goldman Sachs, downtown New York City, on Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001. The people you saw running in the dust — that was me.

I eventually left Goldman to join Cantor Fitzgerald. They lost 700 out of 1000 employees on 9/11. The families of the victims were promised 10 years of healthcare and I wanted to help ensure the company survived. I had a tremendous mentor in my boss at Cantor who was at the top of towers that morning, but he left to attend a seminar right before the planes hit. Working at Cantor taught me to handle every project from start to finish without expecting someone to show up to help. Sadly, it also taught me that everyone in a corporate setting is replaceable and there are no guarantees. Knowing that so many people died while at work gave me a strong desire to choose a profession that I would enjoy.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

We originally planned to sell our drones. A friend was building a new apartment complex and I asked him if he would be interested in purchasing our drones for use in the construction. He laughed in my face and said he would never buy a drone. He said that he didn’t buy any construction equipment at all. He pointed to a large bulldozer and said, “I don’t even own that.” He said that he rented every piece of equipment to avoid having to maintain them because the additional costs of renting are far less than the maintenance fees on the equipment.

He said, “Make it a service where you operate it, then I would consider it.”

That conversation changed us to the service model we offer today. Customers truly appreciate paying for the service rather than owning a drone.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

First are my amazing and supportive parents. They started a company in 1984 that provided the foundation for Drone Express. Standing on their shoulders is the key to our success.

Also, in my senior year of high school I was offered the opportunity to take an elective course. I had to choose either Creative Writing or Computer Programming. I selected Creative Writing, like many other girls in my grade. As it turned out, not a single female signed up for Computer Programming. The Computer Programming teacher also happened to be the principal. He had four daughters and refused to teach the class without some female representation. He went through the female students’ grades to identify those that excelled in mathematics. I did and he asked me to take his Computer Programming class. I was the only female he approached that agreed. I became the only girl in a programming class full of boys. I have two brothers so I was used to being surrounded by boys, but these boys went out of their way to bully me to get me to drop the class. I didn’t.

The programming language we were learning at the time was Pascal and I took to it like a fish to water. I loved everything about programming and knew I had finally found something that I was passionate about.

The teacher told me that I had a real talent with computers and should attend an engineering school. I followed his advice and went to the engineering school at SUNY Binghamton and majored in Computer Science.

That teacher was Mr. Jacobson. Unfortunately, he passed away, so I will never have the chance to tell him how he truly changed my life.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Persistence, focus, and “Why not me?”

There is simply nothing that can replace persistence. I even had a bracelet made with the word persistence on it. Intelligence, talent, and physical skill are nothing without persistence. Once you decide what you are going to do, give it everything you’ve got, and never quit.

The concept of focus is so important and yet everything we are taught in society goes in direct opposition. “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” “Diversify your portfolio.” “Take a lot of courses so you can be well-rounded.” These concepts run counter to everything that makes people successful. Any goal is far more likely to be achieved when you give 100%.

A great example is our early success with Kroger. In the beginning, we knew that drones couldn’t fly far. So, we needed a client that had a lot of customers in close proximity to the store. We quickly identified Kroger as being the best client for drone delivery. We decided to get Kroger. We had no connections and there isn’t even a Kroger in New Jersey where I lived at the time. We just kept saying “It has to be Kroger!” Over and over. We never let the thought of failure enter our minds. Everyone tried to convince us to set our sights on a smaller target like a local grocery or even a hot dog cart in the park : ) We never even considered Plan B — there was only Plan A!

After almost two years, we had a signed contract. When we first decided on Kroger, my father and I flew to Cincinnati to try to make a connection. My Dad took a picture of me in front of the Kroger Headquarters in downtown Cincinnati. When we got the contract, I went back to the same spot, wearing the same clothes, and took a picture jumping in the air with the contract.

The final trait is the concept of “Why not me?”. Not to be confused with confidence, which can lead many people to ignore good advice. So many people are defeated before they even start because they think there is some magic ingredient in successful people like Elon Musk. It’s a thought that creeps in during your darkest moments. Sometimes I have to repeat it in my head, “Why not me?” over and over again. There were many large drone companies in business when we started working with the FAA. There was this over-arching feeling that they had something that we, as a small business, did not. They had money, contacts, and lobbying power. How could we ever compete? They were clearly going to be the winners. So, why bother? We just kept our head down and worked on a Type Certificate for our aircraft, the DE-2020. A Type Certificate is the same airworthiness certificate that a Boeing 747 receives from the FAA.

It was the end of November 2020, and I was on vacation with my family when I got a call from our project manager at the FAA. He said, “Have you seen the Federal Register?!” We were selected by the FAA as one of 10 companies whose airworthiness criteria had been submitted for public comment. Us! A tiny small business made it onto a list of drone manufacturers that included Amazon, Google, Zipline, and Matternet. Being one of those 10 companies gave us exclusive access to the FAA and the opportunity to be one of the first Type Certificates ever issued for an unmanned aircraft. On March 31, 2020, our Airworthiness Criteria was finally approved!

Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations that you are bringing to the Aviation and Air Travel industries?

We will use autonomous aircraft to provide last-mile delivery. Our aircraft are eco-friendly, contactless and can deliver in under 15 minutes.

Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing these innovations?

We simply can’t add more trucks to the road. Society is not going to stop wanting things fast. We need to find a way to meet that demand quickly while simultaneously not destroying our environment. People are ordering more frequently in smaller quantities. That fits right into the drone delivery model since payload weight will initially be an issue.

How do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?

I think the biggest change is that drones will break the link between you and a physical address. Trucks require routing for multiple orders, so a physical address is required. Drones deliver one order at a time which will allow us to deliver to you wherever you are. It will use the GPS on your phone to determine whether you are at home, at work, at a hotel, or even in the park watching your kids’ soccer game. We all walk around with trackers on us at all times, and yet we are still tied to a physical location. It’s crazy that we would place an order at work and have to wait to get home to receive it. This will be the biggest change in last-mile delivery and will completely disrupt how trucks perform delivery. Eventually it won’t just be the speed of drone delivery, but the concept that it already knows where you are and delivers directly to you!

My expertise is in product security, so I’m particularly interested in this question. Recently there were famous cases of hackers breaking into the software running automobiles, for ransomware or for other malicious purposes. Based on your experience, what should aviation companies do to uncover vulnerabilities in the development process to safeguard their vehicles and aircraft?

Our history is in defense contracting for the US military, so we take security very seriously. Our drones use a wireless mesh network that assigns an IP address to every aircraft. This methodology allows us to use networked security solutions as opposed to point-to-point radios that usually transmit in the clear. Our drones require mutual authentication and have FIPS 140–2 compliant encryption. Security is a fundamental tenet to what we do.

Fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The Aviation Industry?

Can all 5 be patience? : ) LOL

You need to be honest, detail-oriented, respectful, open-minded, and very, very patient. Aviation is the safest form of travel in the world. It is a lot of work to birth new technology while maintaining the high level of safety of existing flight operations.

Honesty and truthfulness are critical to the aviation community. The FAA relies on operators and manufacturers who are safety-conscious and risk-averse. To be successful, you will need to view the FAA as a partner, not just a regulatory agency. As we move through our Type Certificate, we understand the need to identify and discuss every component with the FAA.

Attention to detail is also important to ensure safe operation. This is the most important element when it comes to training pilots. Pilots need to be aware of everything the drone is capable of and everything that might go wrong. High-level anything really has no place in aviation.

Respect for the certification is crucial. One of my FAA representatives once said, “All the FAA rules are written in blood.” While a bit dramatic, it is accurate. Most of the rules were created from previous air tragedies and the post-thought of how they could have been avoided. If you do not respect the rulemaking process, or if you view the level of scrutiny as “annoying,” then a career in aviation is not for you.

Being open-minded is something that sounds so simple, but it is often incredibly hard in aviation. You may have produced the greatest flying machine known to mankind, but if it is not designed in a way that can be certified and mass produced, then you can’t fly it. Approving suppliers is a fundamental element of the certification process. Today there are many suppliers that pop-up overnight or operate overseas. A Production Certificate ensures that aircraft manufacturers produce the exact same aircraft every single time. One supplier might make a superior product but if they can’t guarantee the same quality every time, then you can’t use their product. This is a big problem for foreign suppliers that either don’t have a quality system in place, or can’t guarantee to notify you of product modifications. Our experience manufacturing equipment for the US military helped a lot in the supplier selection process. Our drone is almost entirely made in the USA. And. while more expensive, we only plan to use it internally. We do not plan to sell it. The way we see it, UPS uses an expensive truck because it is the best, so we should also use an expensive and reliable aircraft.

Finally, patience is key. Everything in aviation takes time — a lot of time. Being a part of the aviation community is a privilege that is earned through dedication and hard work. Aviation is an exclusive club founded by incredible pioneers that looked up at the sky and said, “Caelum certe patet.” — The skies lie open.

“Caelum certe patet, ibimus illi,” is the motto from the Roman poet Ovid. It was emblazoned on the side of a hot air balloon that took off from London’s Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in 1836 with the hope of crossing the English Channel. “Surely the sky lies open: let us go that way!”

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I would like to bring awareness to the foster care system in America. The hard truth is, on social media you are more likely to encounter a dog that is up for adoption than a child in need. We need to normalize the concept of opening our homes to provide a safe place for children whether it be temporary or permanent. Many children in the foster system come from loving homes and need temporary shelter only to end up being abused by a foster parent. Good foster parents should be celebrated in their communities. This will encourage others to participate. We also need to do more to identify and punish bad foster parents quickly, to prevent a cycle of abuse.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Linkedin, instagram

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!