Canadian aerospace firm Horizon Aircraft says it has reached several key milestones in the development of its hybrid electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, one of the first of its kind.
The company, which trades on Nasdaq as HOVR, confirmed that in May it completed one of the world’s first successful fan-in-wing transition flights using a large-scale prototype.
The achievement marks a major step towards proving the viability of its patented HOVR Wing technology.
Horizon is now constructing a full-scale non-conforming prototype, with initial flight testing planned within 18 months.
The technical team has finalised the aircraft’s platform-level architecture, while propulsion units for the main wing are undergoing active testing.
Advanced simulation tools, credited with speeding up prototype development, continue to be refined. Horizon has also grown its team of senior designers and engineers by nearly 50% this year.
Certification remains a central goal. The company is working with Transport Canada Civil Aviation and technical experts to prepare the aircraft for approval under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and for Flight Into Known Icing (FIKI) conditions, making it suitable for more demanding environments.
Brandon Robinson, Chief executive said: “This has already been an incredible year for the technical team, and we’re not done yet.
“A historic full transition to forward flight of the prototype, construction and testing of full-scale underpinning technologies, and maturation of our aerospace processes has been rewarding for our entire team. Now our focus is on completing the full-scale aircraft design within 18 months.”