Whisper Aero looks to the skies as they introduced the 8,000 square-foot flight test center during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 18 at the Crossville Memorial Airport.
What started as a two-man operation has grown into a staff of approximately 40 employees and 20 contractors, all contributing to the cause of creating “cleaner, quieter and more efficient” methods of moving air.
Whisper Aero’s vision is to explore everyday affordable air travel.
“Here at Whisper Aero, we argue that there’s a ton of mobility bandwidth through the sky,” said Ian Villa, Whisper Aero COO, chief product officer and co-founder. “There’s a ton of space for us to fly. Why shouldn’t we fly every single day? What is the thing that’s keeping us from that?”
Whisper Aero came to Crossville in 2021 in search of a location to set down roots and develop their research in the heart of Tennessee. They built this facility in July 2023 at the Crossville Memorial Airport to address job seekers.
“We’re so very happy here, and we’re committed to bringing lots of high-paying jobs and opportunities so that kids don’t feel like they need to move away to big cities to have the best jobs and opportunities,” said Mark Moore, CEO and co-founder of Whisper Aero.
“The [flight testing center] is funded through a $1.2 million direct appropriation from the Tennessee General Assembly to support economic development,” according to a July 2023 Crossville Chronicle article.
During the presentation of what Whisper Aero is working on and their vision for the future, Chief Engineer Devon Jedamski explained the effectiveness of the propellers they are developing.
The demonstration displayed the technology they developed to keep the sound levels lower than those used by commercial drones and jets. They had three different displays. The final display ran at 200 mph.
Audience members could feel the wind pressure standing only 50 feet behind the propellers.
“One of the most powerful emotions that a person can have is gratitude,” said Moore. “A few times in your life – way too few times – when you really step back and realize how grateful you should be for everything and feel that go through your entire soul. Today is one of those days for me. I am feeling so incredibly grateful for being able to be here and for everything that has led up to this moment.”
In addition to the growing team at Whisper Aero, a company like this requires support on the local, county and state levels.
Whisper Aero invited representatives to speak at the ribbon-cutting event because of their support for Whisper Aero. Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, state Sen. Paul Bailey, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter, Cumberland County Mayor Allen Foster and Crossville Mayor RJ Crawford were all in attendance.
“I’m never too busy for Crossville. Ever,” said Sexton. “[Mark and Ian told us] ‘We have this vision. We know this is what we want to do,’ and then they told us the story of how they ended up in Crossville/Cumberland County. From that step forward, we were invested. And so we were wanting to make that vision and dream and that reality come true in our state. Thank you for your investment in our community and what you’re going to do for the future.”
“It’s just a testimony to what we can do as a community and as a state to be able to create jobs, good-paying jobs, and to create a lifestyle that all Tennesseans want to experience and be a part of,” said Bailey.
“What you all create in here will then spin off in so many other opportunities for other entrepreneurs and innovators who want to come to Crossville,” said McWhorter.
“To have this growth that we’re seeing,” said Foster. “Working together [to form] partnerships: public, private, global, state, federal. We have to continue to do that to keep getting the results, and you can see the things that are going on in our community that are a direct result from that.”
“We’re here,” said Crawford. “We’re willing to be partners. If you have a startup you want to start, or if you want to bring your business here to make it easier to work with Whisper Aero, I would challenge you to say it’s going to be hard to find a city, county and state that’s ready to do business [and] that’s going to offer the tax incentives that you need to make sure that you’re successful.”
To learn more about Whisper Aero, visit their website at www.whisper.aero/.