Astro Aerospace has completed its acquisition of Horizon Aircraft, a maker of electric vehicle take off and landing (eVTOL) aerial vehicles.
Horizon has been developing its Cavorite X5 air taxi and recently released a study from various countries that pointed to interest from consumers to ride in air taxis if safety was assured.
With the acquisition, Astro will have three eVTOL models under development — the Cavorite X5 and its internally developed Alta and Elroy aircraft. All three aircraft are either fully electric or hybrid aircraft and include single passenger, piloted multiple passenger and cargo aircraft designs.
Horizon co-founder and CEO Brandon Robinson will be appointed as president of Astro Aerospace Ltd.
The Cavorite X5 eVTOL prototype will now be developed through Astro and built at Horizon’s production facility in Lindsay, Ontario. It is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022 with a full-scale certified prototype of the Cavorite X5 expected to be delivered by the end of 2024.
The Cavorite X5 air taxi can carry up to four passengers plus one pilot and is built to withstand weather, traffic avoidance and low-time pilots. The aircraft can travel up to 500 kilometers at a speed of 450 kilometers per hour. So far, Horizon has successfully completed 200 test flights of an existing sub-scale prototype.
