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OPENER names Ben Diachun president

On April 2, OPENER, a pioneer of aerial vehicles for consumer creates sustainable, high-growth aeronautics companies, and we
travel based in Palo Alto, Calif., announced the appointment of are proud to have him on the OPENER team.”
aerospace industry veteran and innovator, Ben Diachun to the Diachun joined Scaled Composites in 2003, serving as Design
senior leadership team as president. Engineer, Project Engineer, Flight Test Engineer, Chase Pilot,
Diachun is coming to OPENER from Scaled Composites, the Business Development Manager and vice president of Engineer-
aerospace company that worked with the late Paul Allen to de- ing, prior to becoming president. During his 16 years at Scaled, he
sign and fly SpaceShipOne, an experimental air-launched rocket- held key technical and leadership roles, developing multiple new
powered aircraft. experimental aircraft types from concept to first flight. The revo-
Scaled Composites is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port. lutionary new aircraft include the non-stop, non-refueled, around-
Diachun will report to Marcus Leng, OPENER founder and the-world GlobalFlyer; the first commercial manned spaceship,
CEO, and inventor of BlackFly, the world’s first all-electric fixed- SpaceShipOne, and its follow-on, SpaceShipTwo; the optionally-
wing personal ultralight vertical take-off and landing vehicle. piloted/UAV Firebird demonstrator; the high-performance experi-
“Ben Diachun’s spark of genius enhances any company he mental jet, Swift; as well as the Model 401 advanced-research
joins,” said Burt Rutan, the legendary American aerospace engi- aircraft.
neer, founder of Scaled Composites and one of Time Magazine’s Diachun holds a Master of Science Degree in Aeronautics and
100 most influential people in the world. “As an engineer, Ben Astronautics from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science
played a key role in the creation of 14 revolutionary experimental Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University. He
aircraft, and as the president of Scaled Composites, he developed a holds a Certificate in Technical Management from the University
talented team, explored new innovations and ensured our growth.” of California, Los Angeles and Financial Management from the
OPENER’s BlackFly is a single-seat electric Personal Aerial University of Virginia. He is a Commercial Pilot with Instrument,
Vehicle designed and built for a new world of three-dimensional Multi-Engine and Seaplane Ratings.
transportation. The vehicles are simple to master and require no He was part of the team that was awarded the Robert J. Col-
formal licensing or special skills to operate safely in the United lier Trophy in 2005 for the development of SpaceShipOne. In
States. BlackFly is designed to easily takeoff and land on small 2014, he was named in Aviation Week’s “40 Under Forty”. Ben
grass areas and travel distances of up to 25 miles at a speed of 62 currently serves on the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics
mph. For the past 10 years, safety has been and will continue to Industrial Advisory Council at Purdue University and was recently
be the primary focus in the development of this new technology. appointed to the board of directors of the Experimental Aircraft
“Advancements in both propulsion systems and computing Association.
performance are fueling rapid developments in commercial aero- His wife, Elizabeth, currently serves as executive director of
space, high speed transport and personal air vehicle travel. OPEN- marketing and public information at Antelope Valley College. Courtesy photograph
ER is the leader with BlackFly,” said Diachun. “As OPENER’s Ben Diachun has been named the new president of OPENER
president, my goal is to take what has been accomplished by this About OPENER in Palo Alto, Calif.
amazing team to the next level, and successfully bring a safe and On Oct 5, 2011, history quietly was made near the small town
affordable flying vehicle to market.” of Warkworth, Ontario, Canada. That day saw the first manned In September of 2014, the company reorganized as OPENER
“Ben Diachun knows what it takes to introduce innovative and flight of a fixed wing all-electric VTOL aircraft. This event and relocated the majority of its operations to Silicon Valley in
transformative technology in a controlled and responsible man- prompted the formation of a stealth company with the sole pur- California to pursue an unencumbered and accelerated develop-
ner,” said Leng. “Ben has the kind of entrepreneurial mindset that pose of pursuing the development of this new unique technology. ment timeline.

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Thank you again for your sacrifice. What you do does not go unnoticed!

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Aerotech News and Review
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