The goal
The freest I've ever felt was in a cockpit, flying over the Rockies. I want everyone who dreams of flying to feel that too. That's why I started Abeam: to help anyone who wants to fly become a pilot, and to build modern, well-designed software for all of general aviation.
I can't change what it costs to fly an airplane. Fuel, maintenance, and insurance are out of my hands. But I know software. I spent nine years designing and building it at Tesla. So that's where we start.
The best software in general aviation is:
- Accessible. A beginner can pick it up on day one.
- Affordable. A student pilot can pay for it.
- Easy to use. It saves you time and stays out of your way.
- Modern. It's built for the airplanes people fly today, and ready for what comes next.
Here's my plan.
Build the best EFB in the world.
I decided to build for pilots first, and not because it's the easiest place to begin (far from it!). When I started Abeam, I worked on scheduling and fleet management, planning to launch with flight schools. I quickly realized that building for schools first forced design decisions on pilots and instructors, and made their experience worse.
There are far more pilots than flight schools. Pilots and instructors are the heart of general aviation, and a great experience for them makes it easier for the rest of general aviation to follow.
Our goal is clear: we want Abeam to be the default choice for pilots. We'll get there by listening to them.
Build the best tools for instructors.
Every pilot has had an instructor, and usually more than one. Our next step is Abeam Instruct, a dedicated app for CFIs. It will give instructors the tools they need to manage their students and hand them off to other instructors with ease.
Independent CFIs will get scheduling and invoicing built in, so they can run their business from the same app. Someday, instructors should be able to publish their curriculum for other instructors, and even sell it.
Scale it up for schools and clubs.
Once instructors can schedule and bill in Abeam, flight schools and flying clubs are the natural next step. The tools we build for pilots and instructors will grow to meet the needs of these larger operations.
We'll add fleet management, analytics, memberships, package sales, and more, built on the same principles as everything else: no contracts, no lock-in, and a direct line to us. Abeam should work for operations of every size, whether they train under Part 61 or Part 141.
Add the shop, the FBO, and the hangar.
Flight schools work hand in hand with maintenance shops, FBOs, and hangars, so they come next. Aircraft owners already track squawks, maintenance, and inspections in Abeam, and that record is where these tools will start.
When a school and its shop share one platform, a squawk written up after a flight reaches the shop right away, and the schedule knows when the airplane will be back. Everyone who works on an airplane should see the same record for it.
Then the long tail.
Past the shop and the FBO is a long tail: charter, corporate flying, aircraft management, and aircraft sales. None of it is the priority today, but it all involves the same pilots and the same airplanes, so it can all build on the same foundation.
We're starting in the United States, where I know general aviation best. Over time, we want to bring Abeam to pilots in Europe, Latin America, and beyond.
How we'll build it
I want to be honest: I don't know everything about building the best software for general aviation. The people who fly, teach, and run schools every day know what they need better than I do. So I'm building Abeam with them: watching how they work, learning what they need, and building it together. Here's how you can help:
- Use it. Sign up for TestFlight and get Abeam on your phone before launch.
- Give us feedback. Tell us what you love, what's missing, and what you'd build next. Email me, message us on social media, or say hi at an event.
- It gets better. We ship small updates often, shaped by what you tell us. Your feedback today can be in the app next week.
Here's what we promise:
- We will never sell your data. Not to advertisers, not to anyone.
- We will never show outside ads in Abeam.
- We will never lock you into a contract. You can cancel any time.
If you stay, it should be because the software is good, not because leaving is hard.
Student pilots don't have much money to spare. Most instructors don't make much either, and most flight schools are small businesses. We're not here to screw anyone over. Software is one of the highest-margin businesses in the world, and we can build a good company without squeezing every last dollar out of the people who use it.
Abeam is self-funded, and I want to keep it that way for as long as I can. I never want an investor pushing us to break the promises above. When you subscribe, that money pays my salary. It buys my groceries and pays my mortgage. As more people subscribe, we'll hire more people and build faster. But I won't hire anyone I can't pay fairly, so some of this will take longer than I'd like.
Many of you will spend your own time helping build this, on TestFlight, over email, and in person. Your time is valuable. So I'll be open about how Abeam is doing: how it makes money, how much it has, and whether we're hiring.
This plan could take a few years. It could take a decade or more. It depends on how many people use Abeam and pay for it. One person can't build all of this, and I'm not planning to. I'm in it for the long haul.
One more thing, because it matters to me. I don't want AI to end human pilots. Flying is one of the most amazing things our species has ever done. AI should make flying safer and help people learn, the way an autopilot helps a pilot today. It shouldn't take the airplane away from anyone who wants to fly it. I want there to always be human pilots.
So, in short, the plan is:
- Build the best app for pilots and instructors.
- Build the best tools for schools and clubs.
- Scale it up from there.
While doing all of that, build it with the people who use it, and keep every promise on this page.
Tell everyone.