- 29 Dec 2023 06:27 PM
- 0
Horizon’s Subscale Cavorite
By Kenneth I. Swartz
Canadian eVTOL developer publicly unveils its 50%-scale demonstrator
Horizon Aircraft publicly unveiled its half-scale model Cavorite X5 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft during the Downsview Aerospace Innovation & Research hub’s “DAIR to Innovate” Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Oct. 24, 2024.
The lift-plus-cruise, hybrid-electric eVTOL aircraft design features an innovative fan-in-wing vertical lift configuration with 16 small ducted fans built into the wing and forward canard, with a pusher propeller providing the thrust for cruise flight.
Horizon began initial hover testing in July 2022 near its base in Lindsey, Ontario, with the aircraft tethered to the ground. Aerodynamic testing followed in early 2023 in Ontario Tech University’s ACE Climatic Wind Tunnel in Oshawa, which is widely used by the automotive industry.
Untethered flights of the half-scale Cavorite X5 are expected to begin in early 2024, said CEO Brandon Robinson (pictured).
Horizon Aircraft is currently raising funding for the development of a full-scale Cavorite X7 technology demonstrator, which will have a longer cabin to accommodate seven seats, an increase of two from the original five-seat Cavorite X5 concept (see “eVTOL News: Horizon Grows to Seven Seats,” Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2023).
The eVTOL was unveiled at Centennial College’s new Bombardier Centre for Aerospace and Aviation campus in Downsview, a suburb of Toronto. This historic building was the birthplace of the legendary de Havilland Aircraft of Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk, DHC-2 Beaver and DHC-3 Otter aircraft more than 70 years ago.
Further details on the Horizon Aircraft program can be found on the Vertical Flight Society's World eVTOL Aircraft Directory, which profiles more than 900 known aircraft concepts: www.vtol.org/aircraft
All photos are by Kenneth I. Swartz © 2023 by VFS (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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