Sponsor: Central Coast Section
Speaker: Mike Ricci of LaunchPoint Electric Propulsion Solutions

Date: 21 Jan 2026
Time: 06:00 PM PST to 08:02 PM PST
Cost:
Location:
Reservations: IEEE
Summary:
Electric propulsion offers some distinct advantages for aircraft configuration and design. Electric energy storage in the form of batteries is much too heavy for extended endurance aircraft missions. A hybrid electric solution promises to allow all the aircraft benefits of electric propulsion combined with the high energy density and logistical ease of liquid chemical energy storage. However, the details of the “balance of plant” to support a hybrid powertrain and the added losses inherent in energy conversion processes threaten to outweigh the benefits of the hybrid system if it is not well optimized. Mike will present LaunchPoint’s patented lightweight permanent magnet starter generator and discuss our applications of it to hybrid-electric flight.

Bio: Mike Ricci ris the driving force behind LaunchPoint’s “Propulsion By Wire” electric aircraft propulsion system and has spent the last decade leading projects developing hybrid-electric propulsion technologies. He is actively engaged with the aerospace research community and is a regular contributor and speaker at electric aviation conferences and workshops. Mr. Ricci has extensive experience in power electronics; electromagnetic and mechanical systems; embedded software development; and control system design. As the systems designer Mr. Ricci uses model-based design combined with nonlinear optimization to successfully design products ranging from ventricular assist devices and oxygen concentrators, to hybrid electric aviation propulsion systems. He has served as VP of Engineering at LaunchPoint Technologies Inc. and has worked as a mechanical engineer with Spectra F/X, a theme park engineering company, where he served as Project Engineer on large custom systems with high cycle rates, intimate man-machine interfaces, and high human-safety concerns. Mr. Ricci holds an MS in Control Systems Engineering from UCSB and a BS in Engineering in Applied Sciences from Caltech.