Is Martin Warner, with his flying vehicles, Britain’s answer to Elon Musk?

Martin Warner works a 12-14 hour day on a raft of different projects. He spoke to Andy Martin about Autonomous Flight and how we’re more likely to ride in one of his vehicles than in SpaceX

‘Up to 2,000ft is virgin airspace’ says Warner (Autonomous Flight)

He has been described as Britain’s answer to Elon Musk. It’s a comparison that is not, as I discovered, that far-fetched – and the fact is, you are more likely to be taking off in one of Martin Warner’s Autonomous Flight eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicles than in SpaceX in the near future.

With his thick-rimmed glasses he reminds me of an older Buddy Holly. But Warner is more of a rock-star entrepreneur – an inventor, a film fan and a cigar aficionado. He is the definition of a multi-hyphenate, working a 12-14 hour day on a raft of different projects, like a chess master playing a dozen games simultaneously. “I try and tell my kids not to be narrow,” he says. He sets a good example.

And he got started young, too. At the age of 11, growing up in Kent, finding his customers in the playground, he started renting out games for the Atari console at £1 a night. But the headteacher soon put a stop to this promising start-up. “He took all my games and gave them to his kids,” says Warner.