Skyfly opens its electric aircraft propulsion system to other OEMs

Skyfly Technologies is making the electric propulsion system it built for its own aircraft available to other aircraft manufacturers through the secondary market, and has unveiled a separate hybrid propulsion system for unmanned aircraft that use distributed electric propulsion. The electric system is the one powering the company’s production-spec Axe, a two-seat aircraft that can take off vertically.

The Integrated Motor Inverter is the one piece available for OEM evaluation and integration. The combined motor and inverter unit was co-developed with German engineering firm SciMo, and Skyfly describes it as a direct swap for a 100 hp Rotax engine that supports a range of aircraft configurations. The company positions the swap as a way for an OEM to electrify an existing airframe rather than design a new installation around an unfamiliar powerplant.

A Power Distribution Unit and an 800 V class battery system complete the electric propulsion package. Skyfly built the distribution unit for its own architecture and light sport aircraft (LSA) safety requirements, and developed the battery system in-house. Both are in active development, and full specifications will follow ahead of availability, according to the company.

Skyfly says the propulsion technology is engineered to meet FAA LSA requirements, and that it holds a seat on the rule-making committee for the agency’s Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) rule. MOSAIC rewrites the light sport category, and its aircraft certification provisions took effect on July 24, 2026.

The Hybrid Propulsion System pairs a turbine generator with electric propulsion for unmanned platforms rather than the LSA segment. Skyfly puts the range at up to 400-plus miles and says the system can charge in flight, recharge on the ground when off-grid and run on JP-8, the US military’s standard jet fuel. It is in active development.

“Opening that technology to the wider OEM community means other manufacturers no longer have to build this capability from scratch,” said Michael Thompson, CEO of Skyfly Technologies. “Our Hybrid Propulsion System addresses a very different need, giving unmanned platforms using distributed electric propulsion the range and endurance that pure battery-electric systems can’t yet match.”

Source: Skyfly Technologies