A history of technical firsts.
Justin's career started with his education at Oxford University, followed by a Master's degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. In his research thesis, Justin built a 1-DOF robot arm with active and variable dynamics. His adviser, Prof Dave Akin, rated it 'the best I've seen at the Master's level, it rivals many PhDs.'
In the Royal Air Force, after four years flying Harrier aircraft on the front line, Justin progressed into the engineering world. He attended USAF Test Pilot School, finishing top of his class in both flying and academics before leading the UK's fly-by-wire Harrier research programme.
In that programme he led the technical team pioneering the then highly controversial Unified flight control methodology, developing the control strategy and assembling the experimental data that first converted US government representatives, and then Lockheed Martin, to its adoption for the F-35. Today, it is unquestioned that the correct decision was made.
Following the JSF programme's adoption of Unified, the UK MoD began to investigate the feasibility of ship rolling vertical landings. Justin approached the MoD with a proposal, and after a meeting that opened with the remark, 'if you want us to spend any money on this, you are going to need a case written in blood,' he secured the research contract.
Leading the technical team once again, Justin invented and patented the Bedford Array landing system, which rendered SRVL safe in high sea states and is implemented on HMS Prince of Wales today.
Joining Joby Aviation in 2018 as Chief Test Pilot, Justin spent three years implementing and evolving Unified flight control for the civil market before moving to Vertical Aerospace in Bristol to do the same.
Justin has won the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics F E Newbold Trophy for 'outstanding creative contributions to the advancement and realization of powered lift flight', and the AIAA Wright Brothers Lectureship, awarded for the recent accomplishment of a significant 'First in Aeronautical Engineering'.
In 2025, Justin launched Flyer AI Ltd, applying his unique innovative engineering abilities with a vision to build time machines, transforming the skies above us for all with autonomous aviation, starting with small package delivery.
Flyer's delivery drone design has innovative features that will decimate costs of manufacture and operation.