Former NASA Director Joins Supernal as CTO for eVTOL Development

David McBride has been appointed as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Hyundai Motor Group’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company, Supernal, to oversee the development of their electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle for commercial service by 2028. He will report directly to Jaiwon Shin, the CEO of Supernal.

With over 40 years of experience in aerospace technology and program management, McBride will lead Supernal’s Engineering and Technology Division (ETD), which consists of 400 employees working on various aspects of vehicle engineering, testing, evaluation, certification, and research and development.

During his tenure at NASA, McBride served as the director of the Armstrong Flight Research Center, where he achieved numerous milestones such as full operational capability of the Boeing 747SP aircraft for stratospheric missions and the development of NASA’s all-electric aircraft for Earth Science missions.

McBride, an alumnus of the University of New Mexico with degrees in electrical engineering and business administration, started his career at NASA as a cooperative education student specializing in digital flight control systems analysis.

Supernal, a key player in the Advanced Air Mobility sector and a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, is focused on creating an ecosystem to support eVTOL transportation. By leveraging Hyundai’s expertise in manufacturing, R&D, and supply chain management, Supernal aims to make electric air transportation more accessible in the future.

As Supernal transitions from the design phase to the execution phase of their eVTOL project, McBride’s appointment is seen as a strategic move to steer the company towards achieving their goal of introducing a safe and commercially viable electric aircraft to the market. The company is optimistic about conducting their first test flight later this year.