Tell us more about yourself and what you would like to hear!
Ken Karklin, CEO of Pivotal, returns to The Ways We Move for a Season 2 check-in — and this time he brings Matt Hubert, VP of Quality, along for the conversation.
A year has passed since our first episode together, and the progress is remarkable.
We dig into Pivotal's latest milestones: 9,000+ total flights, 2,300 human-piloted across 55 trained pilots, and the story of Tim Blum — a customer whose single Black Fly airframe became the first eVTOL ever to log 1,000 flights. Ken shares what the battery data actually shows after 500 cycles, what AS9100D certification means for production readiness, and why Pivotal was the first pure-play AAM company in North America to earn it.
Matt walks us through what quality really means in a startup building aircraft — from supplier development to predictive maintenance using real-time flight telemetry from every aircraft in the field.
We also cover the Helix flight test campaign, the path to pilot production, the man who set up Tesla's Model S line who is now setting up theirs, and Pivotal's expanding footprint in public safety and defense. Ken makes a bold prediction: 2026 will be the year one of their aircraft saves a life.
Plus: why gamers make the best eVTOL pilots, the Oregon customer air traffic controllers nicknamed "The Martian," and what it really takes to build a startup in advanced air mobility.
If you are in hurry to access the podcast, you can find them 48 hours earlier on our Patreon site along deep dives and more. https://www.patreon.com/c/TheWaysWeMove
Chapters:
- 00:00 Introduction & Season 2 Update
- 02:53 Meet Ken Karklin & Matt Hubert
- 05:24 Pivotal By The Numbers: Flights, Pilots & Milestones
- 08:36 The Helix: Flight Testing & Production Path
- 10:37 Tim Blum: The World's Most-Flown eVTOL Owner
- 15:42 Real-World Use Cases & Customer Stories
- 18:16 Who Learns to Fly Fastest (Hint: Gamers)
- 21:47 Life Inside a Pivotal Startup
- 27:22 Quality, Telemetry & Predictive Maintenance
- 31:19 2026 Predictions: Public Safety & Defense
- 35:34 FAA, Certification & The Road Ahead
- 37:44 Battery Deep-Dive & Charging
- 43:35 What Gets You Out of Bed?
- 47:11 Global Expansion: Europe, NZ & Beyond
- 50:22 Final Takeaways
For previous episodes of The Ways We Move on your favorite podcast platforms, see:
▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheWaysWeMove 📺
🔊 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-ways-we-move/id1797599255 🔊
🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4V0qe3eZqublwn6dasXWCf 🎧
🎙️ Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/cd3349e1-275f-4691-ae38-f1b6a153d5e5/the-ways-we-move 🎙️
📻 iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-ways-we-move-268614085/ 📻
🌱 Buzzsprout: https://thewayswemove.buzzsprout.com/ 🗣️
🎬 Patreon education and news analysis! https://www.patreon.com/c/TheWaysWeMove 🔒
📢 Support now: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheWaysWeMove
Subscribe for more insights into the future of mobility.
And support the show! https://www.buzzsprout.com/2428454/supporters/new 📡
Support the show
