The news coming out of this year’s famed Oshkosh Fly-In is focused on the development of affordable personal aircraft, and the persistent themes of electric power and autonomy.
Several of the most innovative concept aircraft were on display, including the BlackFly single-person aircraft.
Alan Eustace, a former senior vice president of knowledge for Google, said that back in 2014, he did not think aircraft would use electric propulsion for a long time. After he saw the BlackFly, he realized is prediction was wrong: "It reminds me …of other things in my career where things go from impossible to inevitable in a very short period of time," Eustace said. "That's what I thought when I saw these aircraft fly."
Another company, Ampaire, is modifying an existing four-place twin-engine production aircraft by replacing one of the engines with an electric motor.