AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 37

FUTURE FLIGHT /
Easier to fly?
Airhart Aero hopes for improved safety
BY JONATHAN WELSH
TO WIN, DON'T LAND ON MARS
According to an Associated Press report from
Paris published in U.S. newspapers on October
21, 1969, if the Apollo 11 astronauts had landed
on Mars, they wouldn't be eligible for the gold
medals of the Prix Pierre Guzman...
" It was to be given, Mrs. Guzman said,
'without exclusion of nationality, to him
who finds a means of communicating with a
heavenly body and to receive a response to
that signal. I exclude the planet Mars, which
appears to be sufficiently well known.' "
The prize of 100,000 French francs
included the stipulation that the interest
on the money would be awarded every five
years to a person who made a significant
advancement in astronomy. The prize was
to be administered by the French Academy
of Sciences. It was formally announced in
1900, and the first cash prize was awarded
in 1905.
" Mrs. Guzman provided the French
Academy of Science with the equivalent of
$20,000, and in the years since 19 cash prizes
have gone to French astronomers. The last
award, $870, went in 1965 to the director of
the Toulouse Observatory. "
By 1969, the prize fund had dwindled to
the equivalent of $2,160 and the academy used
the remaining funds to strike gold medals for
the astronauts.
On December 10, 1969, AP reported from
Paris that, " the medals were given Monday
to the U.S. Embassy scientific attaché, Edgar
Pirst, for Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins,
and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. "
Although it wasn't big news, there were
still some people who criticized the awarding
of the prize, arguing that the moon was never
intended to be included as a heavenly body.
By then, with the prize funds depleted, it's
likely the academy just wanted to be rid of
the responsibility.
Dennis K. Johnson is an
aviation writer and pilot.
FORMER SPACEX ENGINEER Nikita
Ermoshkin co-founded Airhart
Aeronautics to develop a simplified
control system that he hopes will boost
interest in general aviation by making
airplanes easier to fly. He showed
his prototype aircraft to the public
during an aerospace celebration at
Santa Monica Municipal Airport. The
event, called Douglas Day, marked
the 100th anniversary of the first
aerial circumnavigation of the globe,
completed by a fleet of Douglas World
Cruiser aircraft. Ermoshkin said the
occasion was an ideal opportunity to
showcase the past, present, and future
of aviation.
Airhart has been testing a fly-bywire
control system called Airhart
Assist in an experimental Sling testbed
aircraft. Airhart Assist combines a
control stick and power control lever
but lacks rudder pedals. The system
uses automation to handle much of
the coordination required for smooth,
efficient, and safe flight, such as
matching rudder, aileron, and elevator
inputs during turns and adjusting
power during climb, cruise, and descent
and other maneuvers.
Ermoshkin said Airhart Assist
reflects many of the difficulties and
disappointments he experienced while
training for his private pilot certificate.
When he entered the cockpit of a
Cirrus SR20 for his first round of flight
instruction he was surprised, he said,
that aircraft controls were so much
more complex than those found in
cars. Even Cirrus, which has simplified
certain systems over the years, still used
a manual mixture control.
Airhart's goal is to offer its aircraft
initially in the experimental market
while continuing to develop its
systems and work toward FAR Part
23 certification. Within 10 years the
company plans to produce certified
aircraft that cost less than $100,000.
Achieving this goal depends in part on
validating Ermoshkin's belief that more
people would take up flying if doing so
were simpler, more intuitive, and safer.
His system's automation focuses on
certain elements of flight that tend to
add to the pilot's workload. Often these
include tasks such as adding power and
managing angle of attack during a climb
or coordinating pitch and power in the
traffic pattern.
He was surprised that
aircraft controls were
so much more complex
than cars.
With its appearance at Santa
Monica, Airhart was able to show its
aircraft to aviation enthusiasts, many
of them aspiring pilots. The company's
display included a simulator to
demonstrate how Airhart Assist works.
Ermoshkin said many people who tried
out the control system on the simulator
appeared to " get it " immediately,
especially the younger visitors who are
familiar with basic flight controls from
years of playing video games.
Even longtime pilots who learned
to fly the traditional way seemed open
to the simpler approach. " I would say
they were skeptical and asked a lot of
questions, " Ermoshkin said. " In the
end, though, they understand that
improving safety is a good thing. "
jonathan.welsh@aopa.org
airhartaero.com
AOPA PILOT / December 2024
37
http://www.airhartaero.com
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024

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