New Horizon Aircraft has appointed Richard Alexander as Chief Engineer of Certified Programmes as the company advances work on its hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the Cavorite X7.
Alexander will support Horizon Aircraft’s certification strategy, engineering development and commercialisation planning as the programme moves towards a certifiable and operationally ready aircraft. He will work alongside company co-founder Brian Robinson, combining his technical experience with Horizon’s existing engineering expertise.
Alexander is widely respected across the aerospace sector, with a career spanning 38 years in aircraft development. He has managed complex engineering projects covering aircraft design, development, build and certification.
His previous roles include senior engineering positions across several aircraft programmes at Bombardier. He also served as Head of Flight Physics at Vertical Aerospace for the VX4 eVTOL programme. Most recently, he worked as CAE’s Electric Aircraft Integrator, leading the battery-electric conversion of the Piper Archer training aircraft.
Alexander said he was excited to join Horizon Aircraft and help develop an aircraft with real-world utility.
He noted that the Cavorite X7’s ability to take-off and land vertically using distributed electric propulsion, before transitioning to conventional propulsion, could support rapid, long-duration deployment into remote areas with limited or no infrastructure. He added that this capability could open the door to a wide range of missions.
