New Horizon Aircraft Ltd. (HOVR) presented its hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft at the iAccess Alpha Virtual Best Ideas Fall Investment Conference on September 15, 2026, outlining a commercial roadmap aimed at certification and first deliveries in the 2030 timeframe.
The company's X7 is a seven-seat hybrid-electric VTOL that cruises at roughly 250 mph—about 1.8 times the speed of a traditional helicopter—with a range of 500 miles, approximately five times the range of modern all-electric VTOL aircraft, which typically cover 50 to 100 kilometers. The aircraft carries a useful load of 1,500 pounds and is powered by five electrically driven lift fans in its main wings and two in its canards, augmented by a Pratt & Whitney PT6 turbine engine driving an onboard generator. About 98% of flight time is spent in conventional fixed-wing mode.
New Horizon says the X7 is designed for all-weather operations, including flight into known icing, using electrothermal anti-icing and de-icing systems combined with bleed air from the engine and hybrid electrical system. The design does not require high-voltage charging infrastructure.
At present, New Horizon reports a market capitalization of $110 million, more than CAD 70 million in capital raised, and a current ratio of 22.76 with cash exceeding debt. The company employs more than 60 people and plans to double its workforce within 12 to 18 months. Management stated it has at least 24 months of financial runway even with a production ramp and targets gross margins around 40% and net margins around 15%, with a long-term production rate of 200 to 300 aircraft annually.
Certification is being pursued through Transport Canada, with Cert Center Canada led by board member Dr. John Maris serving as the certification partner. Partners include Pratt & Whitney Canada for the PT6 engine, BETA Technologies for flight-control support, and MHI RJ for manufacturing and testing.
New Horizon identified several market opportunities. In emergency medical services, the company said the X7 could cut operating costs per unit mile by 75% versus a traditional helicopter and halve transit time to hospitals. It also highlighted military and defense applications—including special-forces insertion and extraction, forward-base logistics, pilot recovery, ISR, and naval transport—and noted the aircraft can fit inside a C-17 cargo plane with folded wings. Additional use cases include luxury business travel, disaster relief, and remote power support via the onboard generator.
A concept study for a larger X9 variant was also presented, featuring roughly 12,500 pounds of weight, nine seats, and a likely twin-engine setup.
New Horizon's CEO and co-founder Brandon Robinson, a former Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot with 20 years of service, co-founded the company alongside his father, an aerospace engineer with more than 60 years of experience in aircraft building and flying. Analyst price targets for HOVR range from $3.27 to $18.23. The company will also present at the iAccess Alpha Virtual Best Ideas Winter Investment Conference on December 8–9, 2026.
