I photographed André Borschberg in the quiet of the H55 hangar at Palo Alto Airport, early in the day before we took flight. Light spilled softly across his face as he sat for the portrait, calm and collected, dressed in a flight jacket that told stories of squadrons, solar airplanes, and clean aviation. The hangar itself is a temporary home base for H55 during their time in the Bay Area, a modest outpost for an ambitious future.

André is one of those rare people who makes you feel both welcome and quietly awed. There’s no trace of ego in his presence. He speaks slowly, listens intently, and carries the confidence of someone who has spent his life balancing on the edge of what is possible. Though he’s best known for co-piloting the Solar Impulse aircraft around the globe, powered only by the sun, his path has been far broader than a single feat.

Trained as an engineer at EPFL in Lausanne and at MIT, André also served as a fighter pilot in the Swiss Air Force. He went on to found and lead companies, always at the intersection of advanced technology and aviation. That combination, technical mastery and a pilot’s intuition, is part of what makes H55 so compelling. The company is not chasing headlines. It is building tools for the future of flight, starting with electric propulsion systems that are already flying.

Later that afternoon, we flew the B23 Energic, a fully electric training aircraft developed with BRM Aero. It was my first experience in an electric plane, and it left a lasting impression. The silence was not total, but it was profound. With the absence of engine noise, every shift in wind, every turn of the wing, felt amplified. The aircraft moved like an extension of thought. It was a clean, focused kind of flying; precise, elegant, and remarkably peaceful.

André handled the aircraft with a kind of casual fluency. He wasn’t performing. He was just doing what he knows best; making flight seem simple when it never is. As we passed over the coast and the hills south of San Francisco, he spoke about the broader mission. For him, electric aviation is not a novelty. It is a necessary step toward a world where mobility and sustainability are not at odds. He believes that change will come not through revolution but through careful, relentless improvement.

Back on the ground, I saw him interact with his team, pausing to discuss battery systems, answer questions, or share a laugh. The atmosphere at H55 is collaborative and open, much like André himself. He has a way of making big ideas feel within reach.

There are people who dream of the future. There are others who build it. André Borschberg has always done both. Whether circumnavigating the globe on solar power or flying quiet circuits over Silicon Valley, he brings the same quiet resolve. He does not ask for attention. He simply keeps flying forward.