Credit: Airhart Aeronautics
The experimental and light sport aircraft markets have driven massive advancements in powerplant efficiency, composite structures, and panel capability. Airhart Aeronautics is doing something genuinely different: not adding more information, but helping pilots manage less of it.
Learning to fly in the geography where I grew up made pilotage second nature, but figuring out which push, twist, or dial on which display was a whole other matter. Then I had the chance to fly in a light sport trainer, and the reality of what avionics could be enthralled me.
Most legacy glass panels give pilots all the information in the world. They still require the pilot to actively manage, interpret, and filter that information. This is not just a workload issue — it is a safety and accessibility issue. It is time away from scanning the horizon, monitoring the flight path, and experiencing the wonder of flight.
Airhart Aeronautics is moving the industry from “information display” to “active flight management.” Instead of sixteen autopilot modes, Airhart’s has three buttons. You know exactly what the aircraft is set to do — building confidence and inherently reducing the likelihood of accidents. Context-aware checklists present automatically based on phase of flight, rather than requiring the pilot to hunt for them.
Airhart Aeronautics brought together co-founder and CTO Nikita Ermoskins — a Cornell engineer and former avionics systems engineer at SpaceX — and President Nate Thuli, a former U.S. Air Force officer, pilot, entrepreneur, and aerospace executive. The team includes software and design engineers from Ford, Carbon, and Apple.
Airhart’s dual 14-inch touchscreen system utilizes a computational engine that monitors the phase of flight, pilot inputs, and aircraft state to deliver real-time guidance. For a full technical account, read FLYING Magazine’s coverage of Airhart at Oshkosh.
For aviation lenders and insurance underwriters, the Airhart system fundamentally changes the risk profile of an experimental or LSA airframe. The timing is ideal — as MOSAIC expands what light sport pilots have access to and manufacturers roll out larger, more capable aircraft like the Van’s RV-15, Bristell RG, Sling TSi, and Tecnam MOSAIK59. By actively monitoring the flight and reducing cognitive load, task saturation is heavily reduced. Lower risk translates to better insurability, which protects the asset’s residual value over its lifecycle.
Whether you are building a Zenith 701 or one of the more than 11,000 Van’s Air Force RV variants, constructing a homebuilt is a multi-year cash flow challenge completed over nights and weekends. For garage kit builds, we recommend a home equity line of credit (HELOC) when not paying cash. The HELOC provides a revolving draw period of 5–10 years, with options to convert to fixed payments at the end. Build on your timeline, keep it a passion project.
If you are purchasing an approved EAB kit with the Airhart Avionics package or an S-LSA with the Airhart system, we roll the avionics seamlessly into the core airframe loan. One clean monthly payment, competitive rates. Manufacturers stage deposits between 25–50% of total cost — FLYING Finance works with manufacturers to roll the avionics deposit into the final payment, reducing the cash required to reach first flight.
For current owners looking to upgrade an existing aircraft, ripping out older avionics does not have to be a daunting expense. We provide dedicated upgrade and retrofit financing. Because the Airhart system actively modernizes the airframe and protects hull value, the upgrade is viewed as a value-add improvement. We appraise the aircraft on a to-be-completed basis and can refinance an existing aircraft loan into one payment structure. Start at flyingfinance.com/avionics-financing/.
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FLYING Finance is the aircraft financing division of Firecrown Media, publisher of FLYING Magazine. HELOC products are offered through third-party lenders and are not products of FLYING Finance. Consult your financial and tax advisors before accessing home equity for aircraft or avionics purchases.
