For an Oshkosh lacking major announcements—no totally new aircraft, no killer app—the quiet part out loud could be found in applications of new technology to familiar aircraft.
The headliner has to be the Harbour Air eBeaver, tucked into the main aircraft display, featuring a Magni650 power train. We spoke with Riona Armesmith, CTO of MagniX, and she briefed us on the operation of the dual motor, four inverter system driving a Hartzell composite prop. The STC is in work while flight tests comtinue.
The next pair involve simplified flight controls. We signed up for a demo of the Skyryse system in the sim set up in the shadow of the tower. We’re under NDA, but if the four-axis controls work as advertised, in a Robinson R66, we’ll likely need a different pilot certificate for traditional rotorcraft—worse than giving a manual transmission car to a kid who has only driven an automatic.
We also met up with Airhart’s founder and CEO Nikita Ermoshkin, who we interviewed for a story on Robb Report last week. The team is testing simplified flight controls in a Sling E-LSA, after flying its first proof-of-concept in an RV-12. The idea? Bringing easy flight to the masses. And I say making it possible to get a sport pilot certificate in 20 hours or less—for real.