Ben Diachun

CEO
OPENER

 

 

 

 

 

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Ben Diachun is an aerospace engineer known for creating sustainable, high-growth aeronautics companies, and revolutionary new aircraft. He is currently CEO at OPENER, manufacturing electric personal air vehicles for consumer travel. Prior to joining OPENER, Diachun developed a wide variety of innovative experimental aircraft as president at Scaled Composites.

Diachun’s past projects include the non-stop, non-refueled, around-the-world Globalflyer; the first commercial manned spaceship, SpaceShipOne, and its follow-on SpaceShipTwo; the optionally piloted/UAV Firebird demonstrator; the high-performance experimental jet Swift; the Model 401 advanced research aircraft; and the world’s largest composites airplane, Stratolaunch, to air launch systems to orbit.

Diachun has a Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University. He has certificates in Technical Management from the University of California, Los Angeles and Financial Management from the University of Virginia. He is a commercial pilot with Instrument, Multi-Engine and Seaplane Ratings.

Diachun was part of the team that was awarded the Robert J. Collier Trophy in 2005 for the development of SpaceShipOne. In 2014, he was named in Aviation Week’s 40 under Forty.

Since 2016, Diachun has served as an Industrial Advisory Council member for the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University. In 2018, he joined the Board of Directors for the Experimental Aircraft Association.