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The Hermeus Podcast

Hermeus 28 Episodes Feb 25, 2026

The Hermeus Podcast explores the future of hypersonic aircraft travel. Hosted by Hermeus, a startup developing aircraft that fly at Mach 5, the show discusses how hypersonic flight will transform global connectivity. Listeners learn about the technology, challenges, and vision behind building aircraft that can cross the Atlantic in 90 minutes.

Episodes

Live from Spaceport: The Road to First Flight Feb 25, 2026 00:38:48 The Hermeus Podcast is BACK with a special Spaceport Edition, filmed outside the hangar at Spaceport America in New Mexico. In the middle of our ground testing campaign for Quarterhorse Mk 2.1, AJ Piplica and Zach Shore sit down with members of the crew team to reflect on the road to first flight, what’s changed since the company's last flight, and what it takes to bring a high-speed aircraft

Hermeus in LA Oct 8, 2024 00:40:15 Our LA office is growing! It’s home to a lot of our hardcore engineering work as well as smaller, highly complex component and subassembly builds. Listen in as Daniel Budenstein, Neel Dutta, Francis Moscal, and Tatum Hardy discuss what it's like to work at our LA office and how it compares to HQ back in Atlanta. 00:00 - 03:10 - Welcome to the LA Office 03:10 - 08:01 - LA office vs. Atlanta off

Special Guest: Art 'Turbo' Tomassetti Apr 9, 2024 00:50:10 Test pilot Art "Turbo" Tomassetti was one of only a handful of pilots to fly the X-35 – which was of course, the precursor to the F-35. Famously, he flew "Mission X" which consisted of a short takeoff, level supersonic flight, and a vertical landing, which had not been accomplished before in a single flight. Turbo shares this story and more with members of the Hermeus Flight Te

Airplanes and Hot Takes Dec 28, 2023 00:41:53 The Hermeus Flight Test team hops on the podcast to judge, drool over, and poke fun at famous aircraft. We've got an Air Force test pilot, a Navy test pilot, and a flight test engineer from the Royal Air Force – their knowledge runs deep and their opinions are strong! PODCAST GUESTS AJ Piplica – Founder, CEO Don "Krash" Kaderbek – VP of Test Pat "Vanna" Svatek – Director o

Special Guests from 'Real Engineering' Sep 20, 2023 00:48:40 Real Engineering is probably our favorite channel on YouTube. They unpack some of the world's most epic engineering challenges with clarity and depth. It was a pleasure to have the channel's creator Brian McManus and his colleague Graham Haerther on the podcast to chat about the art of science communication and the future of YouTube and digital media. And yes, there just might be a forthco

The Dream Team Assembles! Aug 21, 2023 00:44:37 From Skunk Works, Blue Origin, and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency – our board of advisors create a dream team of aerospace wisdom. In this episode we're joined by members of our Board of Advisors to chat about the Hermeus early days and the progress we've made. Rob Meyerson, Rob Weiss, and Keith Masback were some of Hermeus earliest supporters. They bring together a wealth of

Defense Tech, Startups, and More with John Coogan Jul 19, 2023 00:49:12 Thrilled to host special guest John Coogan on the podcast. John's working on a video about us and took an hour to hop on the pod to chat about running startups, starting a YouTube Channel, and of course, fast airplanes! 00:04 – President for a day? Bring back the SR-71 01:47 – Technical recruiting in the early days of a startup 02:50 – John's background: Soylent and Lucy 06:40 – Lessons l

Startups 🤝 DoD (Special Guest Lt. Gen. Clint Hinote) – The Hermeus Podcast 19 Jun 20, 2023 01:17:53 Lieutenant General Clint Hinote's 35-year career in the Air Force has taken him from inside the cockpit of an F-117 to inside the Pentagon. He has most recently been focused on how to best leverage innovative technology to fortify national security. Freshly retired, we were honored to have him join us for a chat about how startups and the Department of Defense can better work together. 00:51

Hypersonic Fever! With Chris Combs and Alex Hollings May 25, 2023 01:16:30 Oh do we have a treat for you! We're joined by a couple hypersonic "influencers", Dr. Chris Combs of the University of Texas at San Antonio and Alex Hollings, the Editor in Chief of Sandboxx News, for a thrilling, engaging, and occasionally controversial conversation about the state of hypersonics in the world today. 00:00 - Intros 03:06 - What is hypersonics? What is hype and what

Hermeus in the Cloud (the AWS cloud that is) May 12, 2023 00:38:52 In this episode of the podcast we bring on a couple all-stars from our Amazon Web Services team to discuss how we approach software development, high performance compute, data storage, and security. Naturally, the conversation gets into some AI and ML speculation and sci-fi movie talk. PODCAST GUESTS: Nandu Shah: VP of Information, Hermeus Jay Naves: Sr. Solutions Architect, AWS Scott Dieckhaus: A

SXSW Special – Atoms vs Bits: Complex Hardware Makes a Comeback Mar 12, 2023 00:58:47 Hypersonics, space, nuclear, carbon capture... Complex hardware is making a comeback and creating an exciting future!  Hermeus Founder and COO Skyler Shuford is joined by Darby Dunn of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Casey Handmer of Terraform Industries, and space industry expert Lauren Lyons to discuss how hardware companies will change the world by 2050.

What is "Hard Tech"? Mar 7, 2023 00:54:46 We call ourselves a "hard tech" company. Not only because we're so hardware focused but also because of the magnitude of the challenge we're facing in building hypersonic aircraft. In this episode we talk about what makes a company a hard tech company and why we're all drawn to jobs making hardware.  In this podcast:  Marty Berman: Director of Content & Marketing Skyler Shuford: Foun

All Things Additive (3D Printing) Feb 8, 2023 00:39:46 If it isn't obvious how excited we are about additive manufacturing – just listen to 10 minutes of this episode. 3D printing allows us to iterate quickly, minimize waste, and have more control over our supply chain. In this episode we talk about all these things and speculate about the promising future of additive.    PODCAST GUESTS Glenn Case – Founder, CTO Sam Kelly – Additive Manufact

Quarterhorse to Flight Jan 24, 2023 00:52:47 This year at Hermeus is all about building Quarterhorse and getting to first flight! In this episode we chat about what it's going to take to build and test such a unique airplane.

Founders AMA (LIVE from The Factory) Dec 9, 2022 00:38:07 Our first Live AMA brings founders Skyler, Mike, and Glenn together to answer burning questions from our online followers. Tune in to hear them reflect on the year, give a sneak peek on what's to come, and field questions from our Live YouTube audience.

Manufacturing Oct 14, 2022 01:03:21 This episode is for the builders. Those who manipulate metal, contort composites, and revel in riveting. Hear from the manufacturing team at Hermeus about how we get stuff built.

Startups and National Security Sep 12, 2022 01:12:45 Venture-backed startups have never been more important to our national security. In this defense-focused episode we dive into what it’s like working with the Department of Defense (DoD) and how to accelerate public-private partnerships in such a complicated field.   PODCAST GUESTS  Dan Kliman – Director for National Security Strategy  Sarah Mineiro – Principal, The Potomac Advocate

Women Engineering the Future Sep 1, 2022 00:49:34 In this episode we’re thrilled to host Ana Kraft, CEO of Xena Workwear! Ana joins three leaders at Hermeus to discuss career advice, role models, entrepreneurship, and navigating a career in a male-dominated field.

Big Swing Investing Aug 15, 2022 00:44:32 It takes a hunger and a framework for risk to bet big on the revolution of air travel. In this episode of The Hermeus Podcast, we talk with Hermeus investors about growth, strategy, and resilience in the world of venture capital.    PODCAST GUESTS   AJ Piplica – Founder, CEO   Sven Strohband – Managing Director, Khosla Ventures   Skyler Shuford - Founder, COO  Richard

Flying the SR-71 “Blackbird” Jul 27, 2022 01:18:40 The SR-71 “Blackbird” is a legendary aircraft. It remains the world’s fastest airplane – a title it has held since the 60s. In this special episode of The Hermeus Podcast we chat with two former pilots of the SR-71 and get into some rather thrilling stories. PODCAST GUESTS Skyler Shuford – Founder, COO Tom Veltri – Retired USAF Lt. Col. Robert Behler – Retired USAF Maj. Gen. Michelle Tyrlik – Sr.

The Science of Flight Jun 17, 2022 00:48:36 The Flight Sciences Team knows the aircraft inside and out. Aerodynamics, mass properties, performance, stability and control, loads – flight sciences analyzes it all and works with each team to make sure our aircraft performs.  PODCAST GUESTS Skyler Shuford – Founder, COO James Shields – Aerodynamics Engineer Tatum Hardy – Aerospace Engineer Wes Vinson – Head of Darkhorse Engineering

Intern Takeover May 5, 2022 01:05:13 The interns have taken over the podcast! Listen in and hear directly from them about what an internship at Hermeus is like.

Atlanta Food & Fun Apr 15, 2022 01:09:55 Atlanta is the place to be! In this special episode of the podcast we bring on the former Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantan Lauren Finney Harden and celebrated Atlanta chef Zeb Stevenson to talk about why the "City in the Forest" is so awesome. PODCAST GUESTS Natalie Brown – People Operations Lead, Hermeus Lauren Finney Harden – Content Creator, former Editor-in-Chief, The Atlantan Zeb Stevenson –

Hooked on Avionics Mar 23, 2022 01:09:25 Fun fact: "avionics" is a combination of the words "aviation" and "electronics". Which sums up exactly what avionics is. In this episode listen to members of the avionics team nerd out about this fact and much more. PODCAST GUESTS Antony Samuel – Lead Avionics Engineer Matt Bigelow – Principal GNC Engineer Natalie Rakoski – Flight Software Engineer Deandre Capati – Flight Software Engineer

$100 Million Mar 10, 2022 01:10:37 We raised a $100 million Series B! In this episode we discuss the fundraising process, what we'll do with this money, and review the initial logo ideas for Halcyon.

All About That Engine Feb 24, 2022 01:19:52 Time for some engine talk. Lots of aerospace jargon in this one, so either sorry, or you’re welcome! PODCAST GUESTS Glenn Case – Founder, CTO Alex Miller – Sr. Propulsion Engineer Noah Brunk – Lead Propulsion Engineer Erik Dambach – Lead Propulsion Engineer

Who We Are Feb 1, 2022 01:06:40 In this episode we dive into Hermeus culture, joining a startup at the ground floor, and why airplanes are better than rockets. PODCAST GUESTS  Natalie Brown – People Operations Lead  Antony Samuel – Lead Avionics Engineer Danielle Mitrak – Lead Structures Engineer Wes Vinson – Lead Flight Sciences Engineer

Meet the Founders Jan 20, 2022 00:53:20 It's the first episode of The Hermeus Podcast! Get to know the founders of the company and hear stories from the "early days". PODCAST GUESTS Skyler Shuford – Founder, COO AJ Piplica – Founder, CEO Glenn Case – Founder, CTO Mike Smayda – Founder, CPO TOPICS 00:48 – Company growth04:16 – Hypersonic travel12:08 – Hermeus origin story24:51 – Mental health day29:01 – Seed funding, inves

The Hermeus Podcast

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