![]() ![]() ![]() And from a regulatory perspective, we’re starting in a pretty comfortable place for the folks certifying the aircraft for commercial operations. If you have to take off or land at a normal airport, you can do so. Once the wings close on our Cavorite X5, it’s flying in a configuration exactly like a normal aircraft. That’s why our machine flies the majority of its mission looking and acting exactly like a normal aircraft. That gave us a head start for designing an operationally tough aircraft-one we would be happy to put our kids in the backseat of. We have a lot of practical aviation experience. My father is a pilot, and our chief composites engineer is also a pilot who has designed, built, and flown his own aircraft from clean sheet design. I was in the RCAF for 22 years, and I spent the majority of that flying CF-18s. Robinson: Most of us have significant operational experience and have had to deal with bad weather and many other unforeseen circumstances. Avionics: How has your previous experience-and the team’s experience-informed decisions related to the design of Horizon’s VTOL? Brandon Robinson is the CEO and co-founder of Horizon Aircraft. Brandon Robinson, CEO of Horizon Aircraft, joined Avionics International for a question-and-answer session about developing their hybrid-electric VTOL and the company’s long-term goals.Į. Following that, Phase III of the AFWERX challenge will finance a 30-month program in which a functional full-scale prototype will be developed.Į. The nine-month-long Phase II contract will be starting this fall and will offer companies significant non-dilutive financing to support further research and development of high-speed VTOL aircraft. Completing the Phase I contract on June 30 allowed the Horizon team to accelerate development of the Cavorite X5 prototype. Bell Textron, Jaunt Air Mobility, Whisper, and Jetoptera were some of the other companies to receive a Phase I contract award. The market research program challenged applicants to design a high-speed VTOL aircraft concept and received about 230 submissions. Horizon was one of 11 companies to complete a Phase I contract award from the U.S. The VTOL aircraft will target multiple applications and will initially have a five-passenger capacity. Its maximum speed will be about 280 miles per hour, and it is expected to have a range of roughly 500 miles. ![]() Horizon Aircraft’s Cavorite X5 is a hybrid-electric aircraft with a patented fan-in-wing vertical lift system that enables vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities. ![]()
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