Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

This year has seen impressive volumes of investment in start-ups seeking to bring new eVTOL aircraft to market. But the money has not flown broadly across the advanced air mobility (AAM) plains. Instead, it has tended to concentrate on a relatively small number of front-runners, like Joby, Archer, Lilium, and Vertical Aerospace, and in many cases via merger-IPO deals with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). 
It’s become a story that to some looks like it’s heading&nbsp;for a "winner-takes-all" ending with the ‘haves’ landing 10-digit funding and the ‘have-nots’ left wondering how they can possibly fund their brilliant ideas. But SPACs aren’t the only investment path. Germany’s Volocopter is a notable example of an eVTOL pioneer that has secured significant new sources of funding from venture capitalists and other strategic backers.
One group strongly committed to trying to concentrate financial resources on deserving start-ups is France-based start-up accelerator group Starburst Aerospace, which by the end of this year intends to have raised a dedicated&nbsp;fund to provide seed and Series A support for new aerospace, defense, and space start-ups. According to program director Christelle Astorg-Lepine, most of the capital comes from corporate investors and private family money who she says find it easier to invest in new sectors like AAM without having to go directly to individual companies.&nbsp;
Start-up accelerators, which are also referred to as seed accelerators, arrange fixed-term investments in cohorts of small, young companies. In addition to connecting start-ups with investors, they generally provide mentorship and support as well.&nbsp;
Starburst launched in Paris back in 2012. Since then, it has diversified geographically and is now engaged with business incubator cohorts in Los Angeles, Montreal, Singapore, Seoul, Madrid, and Tel Aviv. In the latter location, it is working with the Israel Aerospace Industries innovation center, which essentially pays the group to accelerate cohorts of start-ups in groups of 10 in the hope of getting direct access to potentially useful intellectual property and promising business ventures. 
In Los Angeles, it runs a program called Scale in partnership with the University of California. Hyundai Motor Group, which has its own plans to develop an eVTOL aircraft, sponsored a recent selection committee meeting.
To date, the company has accelerated 51 start-ups, of which it has divested from just 2 so far. Of this total, 16 are involved in aviation, plus another 10 in space, 7 in defense, and another 16 in enabling technologies around these sectors. It takes equity in the companies it invests in, nurturing their early growth with a view to selling the stakes around 5 to 10 years down the line.&nbsp;“We can help because some start-ups can be afraid of [contacting] big corporate [investors], Astorg-Lepine told FutureFlight.
In September, the Starburst team will launch a new program called Blast in partnership with the French government aerospace research agency Onera, the SATT Paris-Saclay disruptive technology research foundation, and Paris’s Ecole Polytechnique university.
The first cohort of 18 start-ups, recruited earlier this year from over 60 applicants, have signed up for an initial seven-month “entrepreneurship module.” Then in March 2022, a second cohort of companies will be recruited.
The full Blast program is scheduled to run for almost three and a half years. After initial educational sessions, company founders and their staff will receive ongoing support covering topics such as developing and monetizing intellectual property, engaging with the ecosystems for their industry, and fund-raising.
One of the start-ups in the first Blast cohort is French company Aviathor, which is looking to retrofit existing single-engine piston aircraft with electric propulsion for service entry in 2024. It says that its battery stack is adaptable to almost any aircraft and could deliver cost reductions of around 80 percent for small aircraft operators, including flying clubs and flight training schools.
Another of the recruits is Beyond Aerospace, which is working on a hydrogen propulsion system that it has already tested on light aircraft. According to Astorg-Lepine, the company believes it could have a retrofitted two-seater aircraft ready by 2022, followed by a five-seater in 2024. The company also has ambitions to develop a clean-sheet aircraft that she said might be as large as a current business jet.
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Charles Alcock

Blast accelerator recruit Aviathor is looking to retrofit existing single-engine piston aircraft with electric propulsion for service entry in 2024. (Image: Starburst)

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