Diane Simard

THE NEXT TIME THAT YOU LOOK into the sky and see the distinctive outline of an airplane, something may be missing: the noise. Electric airplanes, once considered by the aviation industry a concept to mock rather than consider, have come a long way. Bye Aerospace, located in Englewood, is on the forefront of creating and designing aerospace products with a solar-electric configuration. They’re the first to develop an electric airplane for the flight training market—and that’s only the beginning.

Diane Simard, senior vice president and board member at Bye Aerospace, has seen the changes in the industry. She started investing in Bye Aerospace nine years ago and joined the corporate board in 2009. At the time, the company was more focused on biofuel, but Simard has always been on the “painful, bleeding edge” of innovation, as she explained it.

“It’s painful, but it can be advantageous to be the first to ever do something,” Simard said. “We

certainly are in first place. No one else is viewing market opportunities like we are.”

By Katie Coakley