OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — Electric aircraft and drone technology took center stage Tuesday at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as Innovation Day drew attendees eager to see how emerging aviation tech could reshape their lives.
One of the innovations was a crop-spraying drone made by Revolution Drones. Steve Lyness, an aviation fan attending the event, said a friend who owns a 900-acre hog farm currently uses a traditional airplane for crop dusting — but that may soon change.
"The crop duster misses corners near trees and buildings and whatnot. The other day we were having dinner and he was talking that he's actually going to buy one because he can pick one of these things up for like $25,000 now and he's going to start spraying his own fields," Lyness said.
The Revolution Drones aircraft can cover up to 1,600 acres a day using a 40-gallon tank. The drones also help reduce operation costs and make farming more sustainable.
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Also on display was the E-Beaver, a fully electric seaplane developed by Harbour Air. Erika Holtz, Harbour Air's engineering and quality manager, said the work being done with the E-Beaver is helping pave the way for broader certification of new aviation technology.
"We're helping to get those steps necessary to get to certification of the novel technology, right? You have a lot of really cool things going on out there like the VTOLs, but they have to also certify the aeronautical components where we can just focus on the novel aspect," Holtz said.
Another all-electric aircraft on display was Beta Technologies' CX-300, which has completed coast-to-coast flights several times. Pilot Eddie Eseppi said the aircraft is designed to make regional air travel more accessible and affordable.
"So what this aircraft is going to do and what Beta Technologies seeks to do is open up regional air mobility to the country. So this is going to allow much cheaper passenger flights as well as make this all cheaper for our operators," Eseppi said.
EAA AirVenture continues Wednesday with a celebration of Women-Venture.
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