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Sandefjord, Norway, February 2nd 2026
NOEMI Aerospace has appointed Simon Bendrey as Head of Design and Chief Engineer, strengthening the company’s leadership team as it enters the next phase of development of NOEMI, the world’s first fully electric amphibious seaplane.

Bendrey brings more than 30 years of aircraft design and development experience, including nearly 20 years within the Airbus supply chain, where he worked on the design and approval of primary aircraft structures, primarily wings. Most recently, he spent over five years as Head of Design and Chief Engineer at Dufour Aerospace in Switzerland, leading the development of advanced electric and hybrid-electric aircraft.

At NOEMI Aerospace, Bendrey will lead aircraft design and engineering as the company transitions from concept validation to full-scale experimental prototype development, flight testing and certification. Construction of the full-scale experimental NOEMI prototype is planned to commence in early 2026, with first flight targeted for 2027.

“There are two challenges that really attracted me to this project,” said Bendrey. “First, no new seaplane has been designed in the last 50 years. That creates a real opportunity to take a step forward in hydrodynamic and aerodynamic performance. Second, there is no twin-engine, all-electric aircraft that has been designed and certified. We’re working on the first.”

Bendrey notes that the seaplane mission profile is particularly well suited to electric propulsion.

“Seaplanes typically fly short missions, around an hour, not the three-hour missions common in general aviation. That means today’s battery technology actually supports the seaplane mission very well.”

NOEMI is being developed as a fully composite aircraft, drawing on decades of progress in composite materials, manufacturing processes, scalability and productionisation.

“The last 20 years have seen major advances in composites,” Bendrey said. “That allows us to deliver lightweight structures, durability, fatigue tolerance and performance. The real challenge, and the main reason I joined Elfly, is integrating those materials with high-voltage battery systems and new powertrains, in a harsh maritime environment. Bringing all of that together is where this programme becomes truly interesting.”

NOEMI Aerospace Founder and CEO, Eric Lithun said the appointment marks a major milestone for the company.

“Simon brings rare depth across clean-sheet design, composites, certification and real-world execution. As we move into full-scale prototype development, his experience is exactly what we need. This is a decisive step forward for the NOEMI programme.”

NOEMI Aerospace has completed the design concept , extensive wind tunnel and sub-scale testing, and has signed a Pre-Application Contract (PAC) with EASA. The company has also secured more than 70 soft orders across five continents, reflecting strong global operator demand.

To mark the appointment, Elfly is releasing a series of short video interviews with Simon Bendrey, offering insight into some of the engineering challenges, design philosophy and technical decisions behind the Go-Anywhere aircraft NOEMI.

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