magniX Opens Pre-Orders for an Electric Engine Aimed at Homebuilders

magniX is using AirVenture to move electric propulsion out of the demonstrator stage and toward the flight line. The company announced it is opening pre-orders for its magniAIR electric engine for general aviation, and it is aiming the first units squarely at the experimental and kit market rather than at certificated production aircraft. For builders, that ordering sequence matters: the experimental fleet is where new powerplants have always proven themselves first.

The company made the pre-order announcement Monday morning at Booth 324, with a press call and photo opportunity. Three of its senior people are on-site for the week: Chief Executive Reed Macdonald, Vice President of Product Development Ben Loxton, and Vice President of Engineering David Sercombe.

The magniAIR engine is one of three programs magniX brought to Wisconsin. The second is a battery-electric demonstrator of the Robinson R66, developed jointly with Robinson Helicopter Company and built around the company HeliStorm engine for rotorcraft. A battery-electric turbine-class helicopter is an ambitious target, and pairing with an established airframer such as Robinson gives the effort a credible path to flight test.

The third is energy storage. magniX is showing its Samson battery technology, which the company describes as built for high energy density and long cycle life. The same cells power the Bye Aerospace eFlyer 2, which is on display at Oshkosh, giving showgoers a flying airframe to attach to the battery specifications rather than a spec sheet alone.

Headquartered in Everett, Washington, magniX describes itself as a technology platform for the electric age, developing batteries and power electronics for energy storage across data centers, space, defense, and aerospace, alongside its electric engines for propulsion and power generation. The company is offering one-to-one media interviews on-site through the week.

The timing is not incidental. MOSAIC explicitly permits electric propulsion for light-sport category certification, and the new Part 22 framework takes effect this week. An electric engine offered first to builders, in the same season that the rules open the door to electric light-sport aircraft, is worth watching. Whether the market meets the technology is the question the pre-order book will begin to answer.