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California-based Airhart Aeronautics is developing a semi-autonomous flight system for light aircraft, which its founder claims will significantly enhance flight safety. According to Autoweek, Nikita Ermoshkin, a former SpaceX engineer, aims to introduce a modified Sling TSi equipped with electronics designed to maintain the airplane within the flight envelope. The pilot will operate an "airspeed controller" and joystick, while the fly-by-wire system, tentatively named Airhart Assist, ensures stability.
“The big reason flying is dangerous is because there’s only one pilot in the plane and that pilot is a huge single point of failure,” said Ermoshkin. “There’s a thousand things you have to be doing when flying an airplane...." With automated systems handling routine tasks, pilots can focus on higher-level decision-making rather than managing narrow performance margins. “We are trying to automate as much of the ‘automation’ part of (aviate, navigate, communicate), or the aviating part of ANC, so that your brain is a lot less loaded by physically manipulating the controls to focus on the things that computers aren’t good at doing but humans are, which is decision-making and risk management.”
Ermoshkin estimates that initial aircraft from his company will cost approximately $500,000. However, he anticipates that economies of scale and technological advancements could reduce this cost to $100,000. The first 50 aircraft will be available as kits by late 2026; thereafter, Airhart Aeronautics plans to manufacture complete aircraft.
