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Aerolane
Aerolane is a Texas aerospace company reviving one of aviation's oldest tricks - the towed glider - for modern air freight. Its engineless Aerocart gliders are pulled behind conventional turboprops in a formation the company calls a 'sky train,' letting a single lead aircraft carry a second load of cargo. By eliminating engines and fuel on the trailer and surfing the lead plane's slipstream, Aerolane claims up to 65% lower operating costs and up to 50% more range, aiming to bring air-speed delivery closer to the cost of ground transport.
Todd Graetz
Todd Graetz is the co-founder and CEO of Aerolane, a Texas aviation startup building autonomous towed cargo gliders called Aerocarts, which let ordinary planes tow extra payload for only a marginal increase in fuel burn. Before Aerolane he spent his career at BNSF Railway, where he co-founded the railroad's uncrewed aircraft systems program and helped launch some of the first long-range beyond-visual-line-of-sight commercial drone flights in the U.S. under the FAA Pathfinder program. He is an active private pilot, an AUVSI board member, and a veteran of multiple FAA advisory and rulemaking committees.