Building the world’s fastest eVTOL for paramedics
By Atherna Browning
At eight years old, Carl Dietrich began saving for his pilot’s licence. By high school, he had earnt it.
That early determination launched a lifelong journey in aviation which took him through more than a decade at MIT, then founding flying car pioneer Terrafugia (later acquired by Geely), and now to Jump Aero.
The California-based start-up is building the JA1 Pulse, a high-speed, all-electric aircraft designed to deliver first responders to the scene of emergencies. Marketed as “the fastest eVTOL for emergency response,” it promises to cut rural response times in half. With a dash speed of 250 knots, the JA1 Pulse can launch within 60 seconds and reach anywhere within 31 miles in under eight minutes
Carl speaks about the hard lessons from Terrafugia, why emergency services delivered via eVTOL are more viable than air taxis, and how early validation from partners like Falck and the US Air Force is helping turn high-altitude aspirations into grounded reality.
Zag Daily: What drew you towards entrepreneurship in aviation?
Carl: “As I was finishing my PhD in the mid-2000s, the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] introduced the light sport aircraft rule, which opened a new path for bringing aircraft to market. It felt like a huge opportunity, so I founded my first company: Terrafugia. Our flagship project was the Transition, a two-seat ‘flying car’ that could fold its wings at the push of a button, drive on roads, and park in a garage. The company was later acquired by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, the parent of Volvo, Lotus and Polestar.”
Zag Daily: What lessons did you take away from developing the Transition?
Carl: “The Transition worked technically, but it was too expensive for the market. Even before the acquisition, we knew it might only sell a dozen units a year. Geely hoped China’s automotive supply chain would cut costs, but that never materialised. For me, it was a formative experience. It taught me that technology alone isn’t enough. The economics must work too. That scepticism about cost estimates has stayed with me ever since.
“We also worked on both electric and hybrid VTOL concepts at Terrafugia, including a DARPA project with Textron Systems. That led to the TFX, a VTOL flying car concept that generated a lot of interest. This was between 2014 and 2017, and it gave us a clear sense of the limits of the technology at the time. It also set Terrafugia on the path to today’s eVTOL air taxi market.”
Zag Daily: Why did you decide to leave Terrafugia and found Jump Aero?
Carl: “By 2019, the new owners moved all development from the US to China. I didn’t want to relocate for personal and professional reasons. At the same time, I saw a better use case for eVTOL technology: emergency response. Unlike air taxis, which offer limited economic or environmental benefits, emergency medical services (EMS) are a true life-saving application. The technology enables things helicopters simply cannot do. That realisation convinced me it was an opportunity worth pursuing.”
Zag Daily: Was there a specific moment that convinced you emergency response was the right path?
Carl: “It wasn’t one single moment, it was three. First, I realised nobody else was tackling this use case and that the technology was a strong match. Second, I met Jacob Riis, CEO of Falck, a major global first-response company. He had independently been exploring eVTOL for EMS. That was a huge validation, this wasn’t just a technologist imagining a use case, but a customer recognising its potential. They became our partners and helped us refine requirements for our first product: the JA1 Pulse, a high-speed electric VTOL aircraft designed for one responder plus life-saving equipment. And third, our market research showed rural Americans would place a very high value on such a service.”
Zag Daily: What did your market research reveal about the business case for EMS?
Carl: “We surveyed over 500 rural Americans, and the results suggested a $13 billion annual market in the US alone. The research revealed a big gap between what people were willing to pay and the underlying costs. That’s ideal when developing a new technology because you’ll almost always underestimate the true costs. With emergency response, there was still room for a healthy profit margin, which meant the business model ticked every box: strong economics, humanitarian benefit, and a viable long-term market.”
Zag Daily: Why design for a single responder rather than two?
Carl: “Ambulance teams usually work in pairs, but a two-person design would have been 1.4 times larger, with a footprint too big for a parking space. After discussions with customers, we chose a one-person design. It allows faster response, lowers operational costs, and provides more value for the same investment.”
Zag Daily: How do you address public trust in the technology?
Carl: “It helps that we’re not transporting patients. Our aircraft deliver paramedics to the scene so they can stabilise the patient. That means patient perception of the vehicle itself is irrelevant. We also chose not to pursue the air ambulance model, which requires larger, more complex, and certified aircraft. By focusing on paramedic delivery, we can operate under Part 91 as a light sport aircraft, which streamlines development and reduces capital requirements.
“That said, education is a challenge. Some people dismiss the idea as science fiction, particularly when traditional air ambulance operators are asked to assess us. But the technology is real, and in development right now. In fact, it has the potential to save more lives than simply electrifying existing helicopter ambulances.”
Zag Daily: What progress have you made on the technology itself?
Carl: “We’ve transitioned our fourth-generation subscale demonstrator, which uses the same flight computer as the full-scale model, and successfully demonstrated vertical-to-winged flight. We’re midway through building the full-scale prototype, with major components completed. We expect integration testing within a year, with early ‘bunny hop’ trials likely around 2026.”
Zag Air: How do you balance high-speed with operational safety?
Carl: “We use simplified controls and systems like the FAA-sponsored EasyFly scheme, which make the aircraft intuitive to fly. Fly-by-wire ensures no combination of inputs can cause a loss of control, even at 250 knots. Tests with Caltech have shown safe recovery from failures in hover with subscale aircraft. Research also suggests someone with no aviation background could safely fly to test standards in under an hour of training.”
Zag Daily: Where are you trialling deployments?
Carl: “Earlier this year, we signed an MoU with the Osage Nation in Oklahoma to conduct a trial deployment. The Nation has a large rural population with major emergency response challenges, making it an ideal test environment. This follows our first deployment in Calhoun County, Texas. Both partnerships will allow us to test our prototype aircraft in real-world conditions, measure operational costs, identify field issues, and refine the design before production.”
Zag Daily: Are you considering military applications alongside emergency response?
Carl: “Absolutely. The needs of EMS and the military overlap: speed, rapid deployment, small landing zones. We’ve already secured five US Air Force contracts, including one that partly funds our full-scale prototype. Defence contracts provide revenue stability during development and reduce reliance on volatile commercial markets. I think the military and civilian applications could very well run in parallel. In the long term, our aircraft may be even better aligned with Special Operations Command or the Army than the Air Force.”
Zag Daily: What has been your biggest milestone to date?
Carl: “Two stand out in the past year. On the technical side, successfully transitioning our dynamically scaled subscale aircraft to fly on the full-scale flight computer. On the business side, signing the MoU with the Osage Nation.
“If I take a broader view, the single biggest milestone overall was securing Falck as a customer very early on. Having a major global emergency response organisation validate our concept within a year of founding the company was invaluable. They also influenced the aircraft’s requirements and have been closely involved in shaping the design.”
Zag Daily: Who outside of Jump Aero do you credit for driving the industry forward?
Carl: “I would single out JoeBen Bevirt of Joby. I’ve known him for many years, and he’s had this vision since childhood. Unlike my own more winding path, his trajectory has been very consistent, and he has successfully marshalled vast resources to make the dream a reality. Mark Moore also deserves a mention. While we don’t always agree, I appreciate his candour and technical expertise. Both he and JoeBen played a significant role in shaping the industry, particularly through early conferences such as the Electric Aircraft Symposium back in 2008, which was a catalyst for the eVTOL sector.”