SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Learn to Fly This Plane in an Hour Former SpaceX engineer designs prototype that anyone can take to the skies. ::
BY MARISA HERMAN W
hen former SpaceX engineer Nikita
Ermoshkin was training for a private pilot’s license, he was shocked to learn that avionics is “not a very modern experience.” He found himself, at great
expense, learning to fly from a book published in the 1940s, practicing on an engine developed in the 1960s, and using an avionics system designed in the 1990s. “The classic cycle of flying is
very expensive, with not a lot of innovation,” he said. Which led him to wonder
why, in the age of self-driving cars, is it so complicated to learn how to fly a plane? As his flight instructor ominously warned him about the many ways he could kill himself if something went amiss while he was in the cockpit, he realized he wanted to disrupt an industry that has seen minimal changes in decades. He founded Los Angeles- based Airhart Aeronautics and created the equivalent of an automatic transmission for airplanes — a simplified cockpit control system where less user error can occur.
Anyone can learn to fly it in
an hour, he claims. Aviation enthusiasts got
a taste of his first prototype aircraft, the “Airhart Sling,” during an aerospace event held in September at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport. To celebrate Douglas
Day — the 100th anniversary of the first aerial circumnavigation of the globe by a fleet of Douglas World Cruiser aircraft — aspiring pilots saw firsthand just how easy flying could be in the near future. The first model is available
for presale for early adopters who believe that flying private aircraft can be safer and easier. It seats four passengers and can travel roughly 800 miles on one tank of gas.
While the first aircraft, which will be a limited production run of 50 planes, still boasts a hefty price tag of $500,000, the company plans to develop a more attainable personal aircraft. Ermoshkin said the Airhart
Sling is “just the beginning,” as the company envisions manufacturing a $100,000
airplane that seats five to seven passengers and can travel 200- 300 miles in an hour or two. Ultimately, he wants to “open
up accessibility to everyone,” as he believes regional air travel is an untapped market with major potential to become the “next step in mobility.” While Ermoshkin’s long-term
goal is lofty, he has firsthand experience and the technical skills necessary to build highly reliable avionics and integrate it into an airplane that anyone could learn to fly. As a student at Cornell
University, he led a project that created an autonomous aircraft that would be used for search- and-rescue missions. He then spent three years at
SpaceX serving as an avionics systems engineer and an avionics integration engineer. He played a strong role in designing the Falcon 9 avionics system and several other key projects before leaving to start Airhart Aeronautics. He believes aerospace engineering
is ripe for a revolution, considering the U.S. has roughly 19,000 airports. Just a fraction are used for commercial flights, he said, and the rest are small private air strips located within a 10-15 minute drive of more than 300 million Americans. Instead of renting a car for
a quick road trip, Ermoshkin eventually sees Americans taking off in one of his aircraft with the click of an app. Ultimately, he wants
travelers to “have the same access to aircraft and aviation as they have access to cars today.” Airhart is currently classified under the Federal Aviation Administration’s experimental/ amateur-built category, meaning it won’t be allowed to be used for commercial purposes just yet, and you’ll still need a regular private pilot license to operate it.
78 NEWSMAX MAXLIFE | DECEMBER 2024
©
AIRHARTAERO.COM
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