The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has recognised two key Electra principals with two of its highest awards: John S Langford is to receive the 2023 AIAA Reed Aeronautics Award, the highest honour AIAA bestows for notable achievements in aeronautics; and Mark Drela has been elected as an AIAA Class of 2023 honorary fellow.

Langford and Drela have worked together for 45 years, since they first collaborated on the exploration of human-powered flight at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with the Chrysalis, Monarch and Daedalus aircraft projects.

Langford currently leads Electra as its founder and chief executive officer, and was previously founder of Aurora Flight Sciences where he served as CEO from 1989-2019. Drela was a key contributor to many projects at Aurora and, along with John Hansman, originated the concept for the Electra eSTOL aircraft while at MIT. Langford and Drela are both members of the National Academy of Engineering, and both hold doctoral degrees from the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

The AIAA award cites Langford 'for exemplary achievement as an outstanding aeronautical engineer, visionary leadership in the development of autonomous flight and relentless advocacy of the future aerospace workforce'. The Reed Aeronautics Award is named after Dr Sylvanus A Reed, aeronautical engineer, designer and founding member of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences in 1932.

Drela, a senior technical advisor at Electra, is one of three newly elected AIAA honorary fellows, the highest distinction conferred by AIAA that recognises preeminent individuals who have had long and highly contributory careers in aerospace and who embody the highest possible standards in aeronautics and astronautics. In 1933, Orville Wright became the first AIAA honorary fellow.

World-renowned as an aerodynamicist and human-powered vehicle expert, Drela is the Terry J Kohler Professor at the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. His primary research interests are in low speed and transonic aerodynamics, physical modelling and design of aircraft and aeromechanical devices, and computational aerodynamic design methodology.

The awards were presented at the AIAA's Awards Gala on 18 May, 2023 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. The AIAA is the world's largest aerospace technical society.