Oct 9, 2026 earnings call — Full-scale demonstrator progress and R&D increase
Horizon is building the full-scale Cavorite X7 demonstrator and increased R&D to $7.4 million this quarter.
EPS $-0.05 (est $-0.09)
Key quotes
"At Horizon Aircraft, we are currently building our full-scale Cavorite X7 demonstrator aircraft."
"In July, wind tunnel testing began on small samples, incorporating ice protection technologies developed by the University of Toronto as a part of our $10.4 million INSAT project."
"To date, our signed LOIs across all customers account for potential purchases of up to 200 X7s, including options with more than $1 billion in indicated potential sales value."
Analyst Q&A 4
pilot training and early customer interest
Q (Joshua Sullivan · JonesTrading): He asked about pilot training and the MRO ecosystem. He also asked what defines early customer interest and how that will evolve.
A: Management said they are building a full ecosystem that includes MRO and pilot training and will partner with experienced firms like Great Lakes. The X7 is a fly-by-wire aircraft they expect to be very easy to fly, and they plan to bring in commercial fixed-wing pilots and type-rate them on the X7 so they can do commercial operations. Customers are attracted to the X7's speed, range, all-weather ability (including clouds and icing), no need for charging infrastructure, and an operating cost between 60% and 75% cheaper per unit mile than a traditional helicopter.
"Being able to fly in clouds and in clouds with potential icing is going to be absolutely huge for the X7." — Eric Robinson (CEO)
international MRO and U.S. demand
Q (Sam Dufault · Oak Ridge Financial): He asked if other countries will have similar MRO and flight training needs as with Great Lakes. He also asked what the U.S. market wants now — civilian or defense.
A: They said they are selective about partners, will choose geographies carefully, and will build MRO, training and some production in different places to support a global fleet. Demand signals from the U.S. are "huge": on the civilian side the X7 can land on small pavements (40 by 40) so regional airports become useful nodes, and it fits EMS and critical-cargo missions; on the military side the machine is of strong interest to primes and the U.S. DoD once flight test data is available.
"Something like this on the civilian side, the X7 will be able to land pretty much anywhere that there's a chunk of pavement that's 40 by 40." — Eric Robinson (CEO)
supplier integration and public feedback
Q (Brian Lantier · Zacks Small-Cap): He asked how integration with suppliers is progressing and whether anything surprised them. He also asked what feedback they got at Farnborough.
A: They said supplier integration is going very well and highlighted BETA's flight control system and their chosen actuation supplier as positive surprises. Starting later allowed them to use more mature flight control, battery and motor tech. Feedback at Farnborough was great; they showed progress on the full-scale X7, in-house vertical and main propulsion testing, the Iron Bird coming together, and the main structure being assembled.
"And I think people were surprised to see the progress on the full-scale X7." — Eric Robinson (CEO)
LOI conversion triggers and grants
Q (Scott Buck · Titan Partners): He asked what must happen for LOIs to convert to orders and whether grants or defense contracts could offset pre-certification burn in Canada or allies.
A: They said generally companies want to see the aircraft fly; after ground testing and flight testing, and once the aircraft gets partway through flight testing, LOIs become much more serious. On financing, they said yes: there are non-dilutive programs in Canada and elsewhere, citing the Initiative for Sustainable Aviation Technology as a "$350 million" bucket they can apply to (they've already won one program), and they noted U.S. grants are competitive but they have won a U.S. grant previously for the X5.
"But generally speaking, it makes sense that these companies want to see that aircraft fly, right?" — Eric Robinson (CEO)