Podcast Ep. #23 – Samy Libsig on eXalt Aircraft’s Vision of Designing a New Breed of Sport Airplanes

Samy Libsig is one of the founders of the sport aircraft startup eXalt Aircraft Inc. eXalt currently comprises a team of three engineers that are bringing a unique combination of fresh design thinking and engineering experience to the world of sport airplanes. The vision of eXalt is to turn the sky into a playground with an aircraft that puts the pilot's flying experience in the foreground. This means an aircraft which is fun to fly, economical, maintenance friendly, and environmentally sustainable. Looking at the sport aircraft market, it is easy to notice that aircraft designs haven't evolved appreciably over the last couple of decades. This is probably for a good reason given that the laws of flying are obviously unchanged, and the design principles that worked in the past, are still valid today. But what is particularly fascinating is the manner in which eXalt Aircraft are using proven aerospace technologies and recombining them in novel ways to design an entirely modern aircraft. The result is an airplane that does not feature all of the most recent bells and whistles—just for the sake of using cutting-edge technology—but instead features a pragmatic design where each component has been carefully chosen to serve the company's vision of maximising the pilot experience. As you will hear in this episode, one of the best examples of this is eXalt's choice of a reinforced spaceframe design over an arguably lighter monocoque design. In this episode of the podcast, Samy and I talk about: the origins of eXalt their particular design philosophy some of the key design choices they have made and the near future of the company If you enjoy the Aerospace Engineering Podcast you can support it by leaving a review on iTunes or by supporting it directly on Patreon, where patrons of the podcast receive exclusive behind-the-scenes content and special episodes. Thanks a lot for listening! This episode of the Aerospace Engineering Podcast is brought to you by AnalySwift. Do you work in the design and analysis of aerospace structures and materials? If so, AnalySwift’s innovative engineering software SwiftComp may be the solution you’re seeking. Used either independently for virtual testing of aerospace composites or as a plugin to power conventional FEA codes, SwiftComp delivers the accuracy of 3D FEA in seconds instead of hours. A general-purpose multi-scale modelling program, SwiftComp provides an efficient and accurate tool for modelling aerospace structures and materials featuring anisotropy and heterogeneity. SwiftComp quickly calculates the complete set of effective properties needed for use in macroscopic structural analysis. It also accurately predicts local stresses and strains in the microstructure for predicting strengths. Find out how others in composites are saving time while improving accuracy, considering more design options, and arriving at the best solution more quickly. A no-cost Academic Partner Program is now available for eligible universities. For a free trial, visit analyswift.com. SwiftComp: Right results. Right away. This episode is also sponsored by StressEbook.com, which is an online hub for you if you are interested in aerospace stress engineering. StressEbook.com provides world-class engineering services and online courses on the stress analysis of aircraft structures, as well as a free ebook and blog. No matter if you’re a junior or senior structural analyst, stressEbook.com provides you with the skills and know-how to become a champion in your workplace. Selected Links from the Episode eXalt Aircraft's webpages eXalt's Twitter and LinkedIn profiles For angel investors: eXalt's AngelList profile