The Historian of Flight’s Future: Mike Hirschberg on eVTOL, Hydrogen, and Innovation

HYSKY Society
6 days ago
5 min read

Part 1: Origins — The Spark That Lifted Off

Step into a time machine. Not one made of chrome or coils, but built from memory, mission, and momentum. In the cockpit, meet Mike Hirschberg — engineer, connector, historian, and who I call the godfather of vertical flight.

Before he was shaping the skies, he was a kid growing up near Washington, D.C., wandering the halls of the Air and Space Museum, dreaming about Skylab, and watching the space shuttle era dawn in real time. That environment, saturated with science and service, left its mark.

He was the second of six kids. Raised by a single mom who worked nights. And yet, even in that quiet chaos, there was room for vision. By age 18, when most are still figuring out who they are, Mike was building solid rocket motors by hand at the University of Virginia. A future was forming — one fueled by curiosity, galvanized by space, and tethered to a desire to serve.

But it wasn’t just engines he was meant to build. It was communities.

“I always get inspired by working with people like you… I want to help you channel that energy into advancing aerospace,” Mike said in the episode.

And that’s exactly what he’s done.

Part 2: Transformation & Mission — From Helicopters to eVTOLs

Mike’s career is a living map of how innovation moves — not in straight lines, but in rising arcs.

In 2011, he became Executive Director of what was then the American Helicopter Society (AHS). But by 2017, he recognized a shift. Helicopters were no longer the only players in vertical flight. The future was eVTOL, and the name “AHS” felt like a relic.

“The word ‘helicopter’ was a limiter. And ‘American’ was a limiter,” Mike explained.“The Vertical Flight Society — that’s who we already were. We just needed the name to catch up.”

This wasn’t a branding exercise. It was a redefinition of the field itself. One that acknowledged tiltrotors, drones, distributed propulsion, and the massive shifts happening in software, batteries, and certification.

Then came 2014 — and what would become one of the most pivotal moments in the history of advanced air mobility:

The first Transformative Vertical Flight (TVF) workshop.

Part 3: Achievements & Breakthroughs — TVF, Joby, and the Hydrogen Awakening

The TVF workshop in 2014 was electric in more ways than one. Mike called it “a confluence of technologies” — electric motors, powerful batteries, open-source design tools, and a newly flexible FAA.

Inside that small conference room — max capacity 100 — were names that would go on to define the future:

Mark Moore (NASA → Uber → Whisper Aero),

JoeBen Bevirt (Joby Aviation),

Eric Allison (Uber → Joby),

John Piasecki, and

Darold Cummings, to name just a few.

“We weren’t just brainstorming,” Mike said. “We were identifying challenges, and then mobilizing to solve them.”

And the proof is in the sky. Joby, now a household name in electric flight, was already showing signs of leadership even then. “From the beginning, they looked like the ones to watch,” Mike recalled.

But while batteries were the hot topic, one lone voice in the room was whispering a different kind of fuel:

Hydrogen.

Part 4: Challenges & Values — The Quiet Revolution of Hydrogen

His name was Bud Skriba, and he wouldn’t shut up about hydrogen. Not in an annoying way — in a prophet-in-the-desert way. And Mike, ever the pattern recognizer, listened.

“In 2014, we thought hydrogen was 10 years away,” Mike admitted.“Now it’s 11 years later, and we’re finally here.”

Bud’s persistence planted a seed. Then came 2020 — the pandemic, Agility Prime, and a virtual gathering that brought hundreds of aerospace dreamers together. Danielle McLean, the HYSKY Pod host, was one of them.

“Who is Bud? I need to meet him,” she messaged Mike mid-presentation.

That chat led to the founding of the H2eVTOL Council — a collaboration of thinkers, engineers, and policy minds determined to figure out if hydrogen vertical flight was viable.

It wasn’t just viable. It was necessary.

Mike also helped launch the H2-Aero Symposium, a now-annual event gathering everyone from NASA to Airbus to tackle the entire hydrogen aviation ecosystem — not just propulsion, but infrastructure, policy, and standardization.

“It’s going to take global villages,” Mike said. “Not just engineers, but educators, regulators, investors — the whole chain.”

Part 5: Future & Legacy — From VFS to HYSKY, From Past to Propulsion

In July 2025, Mike officially stepped down as Executive Director of the Vertical Flight Society. But don’t think for a second that he’s slowing down.

He launched H2 Advisors, a strategic consulting firm offering what he calls “heuristic” insight: fast, practical problem-solving based on decades of aerospace experience.

He also joined the HYSKY Board of Directors, where his mission continues:

“HYSKY is a continuation of the work we started at VFS. But now we can go even deeper into hydrogen.”

It’s more than technical expertise. Mike is revered because of how many careers he’s quietly launched. Danielle credits nearly every major connection in her aerospace journey to him — from mentors like Martine Rothblatt to collaborators at NASA, Piasecki, and beyond.

And it’s not just her.

From students, to interns, to young engineers, Mike’s reputation is less about being the smartest guy in the room — and more about being the one who makes space for others to rise.

“He was the first person I wanted to meet when I was bored in a manufacturing job. He changed my life,” Danielle said.

And that’s not just her story. It’s a pattern.

Part 6: Why Hydrogen Matters (and Why the Doubters Are Wrong)

Mike is clear-eyed about the challenges facing hydrogen aviation. Infrastructure. Perception. Certification. Energy density.

But he’s also clear-eyed about its potential:

100x more specific energy than batteries
3.5x more energy per unit mass than kerosene
No emissions if sourced green
Electric motors powered by hydrogen fuel cells = ultra-low maintenance, ultra-clean flight

And to the doubters?

“It won’t work with that attitude,” Mike said bluntly.“There are a thousand reasons it won’t work. But we’re going to find the thousand-and-first reason that it does.”

He compared today’s resistance to the Hindenburg Syndrome — an irrational fear based on one tragedy almost 100 years ago. The real culprit? Aluminum-doped fabric, not hydrogen.

“People forget we already use hydrogen in forklifts, in cars, in space launches. It can be handled safely. It is handled safely.”

His favorite stat?

NASA has been using hydrogen for over 80 years — and there’s never been a hydrogen leak that caused an accident.

Part 7: The Hero Behind the Headlines

You might know Mike Hirschberg as the guy who helped rebrand AHS into the Vertical Flight Society. Or the one who brought eVTOL into the mainstream. Or the mind behind the “Hirschberg Rule”:1 billion dollars. 1,000 engineers. 1 decade to bring an eVTOL to market.

But those aren’t his proudest accomplishments.

His real legacy?

“I hope I’m remembered like Hal Andrews,” Mike said. “He loved airplanes. But he loved helping people even more.”

And you see it — in the way he redirects credit, in how he makes space at the table, in how he remembers interns from 15 years ago and still checks in on them.

He’s the historian of the future of flight, not because he writes it down — but because he helps write it with others.