Canadian hybrid-electric aviation specialist Horizon Aircraft has unveiled a half-scale prototype of its proposed Cavorite X5 eVTOL aircraft.
The 50% scale version is 4.5m (15ft) in length with a wingspan of 6.7m.
Horizon says the eventual production aircraft will have capacity for a pilot and four passengers, and be powered by a hybrid-electric system capable of battery recharge during flight, giving a range of 270nm (500km).
The push-propeller Cavorite has a forward-swept wing design, with canards and a twin fin. Six fans are embedded in each wing and two in each canard.
Its fan-in-wing layout features sliding covers to smooth the wing profile for cruise flight.
This will enable the aircraft to perform most of its flight in a low-drag configuration – which Horizon claims is “safer” and will make the Cavorite “easier to certify than radical new eVTOL designs”.
Chief executive Brandon Robinson says testing of the half-scale prototype will “help reduce technical risk” as the company continues detailed design of the full-scale version.
