New Horizon Aircraft Targets 2030 Certification for Hybrid eVTOL Cavorite X5

New Horizon Aircraft NASDAQ: HOVR said it is developing a hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft designed for regional transportation, with the company targeting certification in 2030 and beginning flight testing of a full-scale demonstrator next year.

During a presentation, the company’s chief financial officer said New Horizon’s aircraft differs from many advanced air mobility designs through its patented “fan-in-wing” system and hybrid-electric propulsion. Rather than using exposed tilting rotors, the aircraft is designed to look and operate primarily like a conventional airplane, with fans housed inside its wings providing vertical lift during takeoff and landing.

Brandon Robinson, New Horizon’s chief executive officer and a former Canadian Air Force fighter pilot, founded the company about 13 years ago, according to the presentation. The company said Robinson and his father, a pilot and engineer, identified an opportunity to develop an aircraft with vertical-flight flexibility while seeking better speed, range and payload characteristics than existing helicopter-style designs.

Hybrid Design and Target Performance

The aircraft uses batteries to power its vertical-lift fans and a turbine engine to power a rear propeller during forward flight. The turbine can recharge the batteries while the aircraft is flying, according to the CFO, reducing the need to recharge after every landing.

New Horizon said its proposed aircraft is designed to reach speeds of 250 mph, a range of 500 miles and a useful load of 1,500 pounds. The CFO contrasted those goals with other electric vertical-takeoff aircraft, which he said generally target speeds of 100 mph to 200 mph, ranges of 100 miles to 500 miles and useful loads of 500 pounds to 1,000 pounds.

The aircraft can also take off and land conventionally at airports, a capability the company described as both an operational option and a safety redundancy measure. New Horizon expects the aircraft to fly in its conventional airplane-like configuration for more than 98% of its missions.

In response to an analyst question, the CFO said the combination of hybrid propulsion and the fan-in-wing system represents the company’s principal competitive advantage. He said some peers that initially pursued all-electric designs are now considering hybrid models because of battery-performance limitations, while New Horizon’s fan-in-wing technology is patented.

Target Markets Include Defense, Medevac and Logistics

New Horizon said it does not intend to operate an urban air-taxi network. Instead, it plans to manufacture aircraft and sell them to existing operators serving defense, medical evacuation, logistics and cargo, executive transport, and disaster-relief markets.

The CFO said the aircraft could support defense missions by reducing the number of aircraft and personnel required in certain extraction operations. He also highlighted potential medevac applications, arguing that the aircraft could offer improvements in speed, reliability and operating costs compared with legacy helicopters.

For disaster relief, the company believes hybrid-electric propulsion could be useful in locations without charging infrastructure. While all-electric aircraft may need frequent charging, New Horizon’s design is intended to rely on its turbine engine during forward flight and to use battery power principally for vertical operations.

The company estimated that its aircraft could cost just under $1 per passenger seat mile to operate, compared with about $5 per passenger seat mile for legacy helicopters. The CFO said helicopter operators often have margins of roughly 5% to 10%, and suggested lower operating costs could create a financial benefit for customers.

Certification, Pricing and Financing

New Horizon said it completed flight testing of large-scale prototypes in May 2025 and is now building a full-scale demonstrator aircraft. Flight testing for that demonstrator is expected to begin next year, followed by regulatory engagement over the subsequent two to three years.

The company plans to certify the aircraft with Transport Canada and expects certification by 2030. The CFO said certification in Canada could provide a recognized pathway for approvals in other developed markets, though he acknowledged that approvals in other jurisdictions would still require additional work.

Commercial revenue operations are not expected until certification is achieved, the CFO said. However, the company is pursuing nearer-term opportunities to license its technology for other types of vehicles, including unmanned aircraft, drones and defense applications.

New Horizon expects an aircraft to sell for approximately $6 million, a price the CFO said is comparable with certain helicopters and competing aircraft offered for sale. He said the company’s current quarterly spending is about $6 million to $7 million, compared with what he characterized as substantially higher spending by some peers.

The CFO said New Horizon has raised capital through government grants, an at-the-market equity program and prior equity financing. He said Canso Group owns about 20% of the company’s stock and has invested approximately C$20 million over the past three years. The company expects to continue using grants, its at-the-market program and potential partnerships to fund certification and development.

About New Horizon Aircraft (NASDAQ:HOVR)

New Horizon Aircraft Ltd. is a Canadian aerospace company developing hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Its primary product is the Cavorite X5, a five-seat aircraft designed to combine vertical takeoff and landing capabilities with efficient forward flight. The company's design uses a lift-plus-cruise configuration, with ducted fans intended to be enclosed within the wings during forward flight.

The Cavorite X5 is being developed for applications including passenger transportation, cargo delivery, emergency response, and defense.

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