I suppose the Venn diagram of Apple Vision Pro users and potential Cirrus owners must be pretty compelling. And I admit, after recent virtual walk-throughs of aircraft-in-process, like Aura Aero’s ERA, I’d be game to try one on too if it could take me into a world I really want to inhabit: flying.
Cirrus unveiled its Let’s Go Fly! program for the Vision Pro on June 2 to much excitement around the social spheres, and it looks fairly awesome. Though I was coaxed into the air by the scenes from Top Gun like every Gen Xer, to each age comes its corresponding bait. The experience takes those who don the goggles over the virtual landscapes of the Southwestern U.S. at the controls of a Cirrus SR22T. Once one’s appetite has been teased like this, you can explore VR versions of the SR series and the Vision Jet at your leisure. It beats waiting on a ramp in the hot sun for the real thing.
Power Couples
Real-world team-ups abound in the GA space this week as well, with two new “power couples” announced … mashups that should bring true performance and innovation to the market.
Draco Aircraft has made waves with its scene-stealing blend of short field performance and engaging lines into what it calls the HyperSTOL airplane of our dry lakebed dreams. Streaming from the vision of Mike Patey, the Draco is poised for its market debut some time in 2028, according to the company.
On the other side of the map, Airhart Aeronautics has been developing its version of simplified flight controls and corresponding integrated avionics system, with a first deployment inside a testbed Sling TSI out of southern California.
Draco’s CEO Johannes von Thadden recently joined the founder of Airhart, Nate Thuli, on Nate’s new podcast, What Follows … and what has followed is an interesting match. “Imagine a world where everyone can fly safely, from door to door,” is how von Thadden opens up the conversation. I must say, the marriage of a HyperSTOL aircraft that could land in my backyard (which admittedly measures almost a full acre) with a simple control stick and smart tech to smooth out the ruffles and navigate between points in the air like you would in a Subaru could significantly lower the bar to aerial entry.
On the fly-it-now front, another partnership bent on turning fuel into lift is the one between CubCrafters and Luke Czepiela, pilot in the Red Bull Air Races and well known for his exploits in his souped-up Carbon Cub. Now, a version of the Rotax 916 iS he’s used to fly off of a tall building (the Burj Al Arab) in Dubai could come to a Cub near you, courtesy of a software upgrade. In concert with RS Flight Systems, the engine management software has been refined to the point where it offers faster acceleration during takeoff and go-arounds, improved climb performance, increased airspeed, and improved deceleration and energy management, according to the company.
CubCrafters has evaluated the software in their aircraft equipped with both Hartzell and MT Propeller options, and it can be yours now for $1,500. Maybe with the new kit onboard, you can take on this record recently set in another Carbon Cub.
The High Life
Finally, ICYMI in the flight levels, the latest Embraer Executive Jet acquired its multi-continent certification about a month ago. The Praetor 600E, aimed at the streaming crowd with the 42-inch 4K OLED “Smart Window” technology that turns the mid-section of the cabin into a movie theater, secured its Triple Crown FAA/EASA/ANAC nod, and can now ply those skies pretty much all over this half of the planet. (ANAC is the Brazilian civil aviation authority in this instance, though it can also refer to the same entity in Portugal.) Embraer expects the Praetor 500E to gain similar certification by the end of 2026. What matters to all of us is that these authorities can still work in concert, and in the case of incremental-yet-still-important updates to a model, allow for innovations to proceed on pace, in spite of geopolitical unrest and tariff sparring. Though the U.S. has again thrust those tariffs back into the spotlight, we’re assured that they won’t touch aviation and leave aerospace deals in place. At least for now, can we plan that way?
