New Horizon Aircraft Ltd. is a publicly traded company headquartered in Lindsay, Ontario, which is developing a hybrid eVTOL aircraft for regional air mobility.
It is designing the Horizon Cavorite X7 as a hybrid-electric 6-passenger aircraft that has electric fans for vertical takeoff and landing and a turboprop engine for forward flight. Horizon Aircraft expects that its hybrid architecture will result in greater range compared to electric-only VTOL aircraft, while having 20–30% lower operating costs and twice the speed of a traditional helicopter.[1] Development of a full-scale prototype is ongoing with the intent of having the Cavorite X7 certified and flying before 2030.[2]
History
Horizon Aircraft was founded in 2013 by Brian and Brandon Robinson to develop an amphibious aircraft. After investigating available technologies, the company pivoted to developing an electric VTOL aircraft augmented by conventional propulsion.
In June 2021, Horizon was acquired by Astro Aerospace Ltd. in an all-stock deal. In August 2022, Astro and Horizon agreed to unwind the deal and Horizon was sold back to its original shareholders.[3]
In September 2023, Horizon announced that their planned full-scale aircraft would be scaled up from the 5-seater Horizon Cavorite X5 to a 7-seater called the Horizon Cavorite X7 after positive results from flight tests.[4]
In 2024, Horizon merged with special-purpose acquisition company Pono Capital Three to go public on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and signed a letter of intent to sell 50 Cavorite X7 aircraft to Indian private jet operator JetSetGo.[5]
As of October 2025, Horizon Aircraft had approximately 22 employees.[6]
Design
The Cavorite series uses a split-wing design. The Cavorite 7 uses 5 battery-powered vertical lift fans in each of two wings along with 2 fans in the nose canards. At altitude, a gas-powered propeller powers forward flight. The 6-passenger (plus one pilot) is planned to achieve 280 mph could offer a 500 mile range by 2030.[7]
See also
- Archer Aviation
- EHang
- Joby Aviation
- Lilium
- Vertical Aerospace
External links
References
- Horizon Bets on Extended Range with Hybrid Cavorite X7 evtol.news, retrieved 2025-10-17^
- Joanna Bailey. Horizon Aircraft plans 1st flight for Cavorite eVTOL in 2026 AGN, 2025-06-26, retrieved 2025-10-18^
- NEW HORIZON AIRCRAFT LTD. Form 10-K Annual Report for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025 2025-08-22, retrieved 2025-10-17^
- Jason O'Neill. Horizon Aircraft Announces Shift to 7-Seat Hybrid Electric eVTOL Aircraft Concept Horizon Aircraft, 2023-09-29, retrieved 2025-10-17^
- Horizon Aircraft Goes Public, Secures Order for Up to 100 Hybrid-Electric Models www.flyingmag.com, 2024-01-17, retrieved 2025-10-18^
- Horizon Aircraft: About LinkedIn, retrieved 2025-10-17^
- Ben Coxworth. Split-wing aircraft gets new propulsion system New Atlas, 2026-01-29, retrieved 2026-02-03^