Talyn Air

Talyn Air, founded in 2019 by former SpaceX engineers Jamie Gull and Evan Mucasey, is an aerospace company developing a novel electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft system. The founders' experience with multi-stage rockets at SpaceX, where they worked on the Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft, directly inspired the company's two-vehicle approach to electric aviation. Gull, with a background from Stanford University in Aerospace Engineering and experience at Scaled Composites, and Mucasey, a Mechanical Engineering graduate from Lehigh University, identified a critical energy consumption problem in single-vehicle eVTOL designs. Their solution separates the energy-intensive vertical flight phase from the efficient long-range cruise phase.

The company's core product is a staged aircraft system consisting of two distinct vehicles: a reusable "Lift" vehicle and a fixed-wing "Cruise" vehicle. For takeoff, the drone-like Lift vehicle, equipped with multiple rotors, attaches to and vertically carries the Cruise aircraft to an optimal altitude. Once at cruising altitude, the two vehicles separate mid-air. The Lift vehicle then returns to the launch pad to await another aircraft or land, while the Cruise vehicle, now with a full battery, flies efficiently to its destination. Upon arrival, another Lift vehicle meets the Cruise aircraft in mid-air to perform a vertical landing. This methodology is designed to overcome the range limitations of typical eVTOLs, projecting a range of over 300 miles at speeds exceeding 200 mph, a significant increase compared to competitors.

Talyn Air's primary markets include commercial cargo logistics, specifically middle-mile and industrial last-mile deliveries, and the defense sector. The system is designed to transport payloads up to 1,000 pounds, equivalent to five passengers, without requiring traditional runway infrastructure, enabling true point-to-point transportation. The company's business model revolves around offering these aircraft systems to both commercial and government clients. A significant part of its early development has been funded through contracts with the U.S. Air Force's AFWERX and Agility Prime programs, focusing on battlefield logistics and rapid deployment capabilities. Following its participation in the Y Combinator accelerator, Talyn secured several funding rounds and built and tested subscale prototypes. In July 2023, Talyn Air was acquired by Ampaire, a developer of hybrid-electric propulsion systems, in a move to combine Talyn's innovative aircraft architecture with Ampaire's powertrain technology.

Keywords: eVTOL, electric aircraft, mid-air docking, two-stage aircraft, vertical take-off and landing, drone cargo delivery, aerospace engineering, AFWERX, Agility Prime, Ampaire, regional air mobility, sustainable aviation, unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, last-mile logistics, defense logistics, Falcon 9, SpaceX alumni, advanced air mobility, battery electric flight