The recent Air Venture at Oshkosh, which drew 700,000 attendees and featured the largest assembly of electric aircraft ever, has challenged the prevailing narrative that electric aviation is primarily about flying cars and urban air taxis. According to Lisa Wright, founder of Landings, who attended both the main event and the Vertical Flight Society's Electric Aircraft Symposium, the reality is far more diverse, with implications reaching across every segment of aviation from emergency services to agriculture.
Wright observed a significant presence of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, but also noted that many traditional aircraft are being converted to electric. “Cessna Caravans that land on water are being electrified. There were a lot of Pipistrels. Traditional aircraft that are being converted to electric as well,” she said. These conversions are not theoretical; they are flying now, expanding the use case ecosystem immediately. An electrified Beaver (eBeaver) can operate commercially today, as can Pipistrels with electric powertrains.
The market's breadth was further highlighted by companies like Air EV, an Israeli-based firm that aims to produce 30,000 aircraft per year, treating aircraft as commodities to be sold like cars. This production vision, enabled by the new Mosaic rule, signals a shift from boutique manufacturing to automotive scale, only viable if the market extends beyond commuter flying cars. Similarly, Skyfly is pursuing Mosaic-level approvals for light sport and non-commercial aircraft, freeing them from traditional commercial restrictions.
A pivotal moment occurred during Tim Jackson's presentation on aviation futures when a Beta aircraft took off outside. The audience rushed out to watch it fly, underscoring the operational maturity of these aircraft. Wright noted that Beta's aircraft have flown 60,000 miles, with their test fleet accumulating 175,000 miles. These are not prototypes in controlled environments but aircraft generating real-world data for certification and operational readiness.
The diversity of aircraft at Oshkosh, from 70-year-old relics to cutting-edge electric planes, illustrates that innovation in aviation has always thrived on varied approaches. Wright observed, “When you see 20,000 planes in front of you, and they’re all totally different, you realize that innovation has always meant every plane is so totally different.” This suggests that there is no single correct design or charging standard; the industry is in a phase of experimentation, which is a natural part of aviation's evolution.
For commercial real estate owners and infrastructure developers, Oshkosh signals that the electric aviation market is expanding faster and broader than projections. It is not waiting for major players like Joby or Archer to capture imagination. Conversions of existing aircraft are operational, mass manufacturing is planned, and use cases in emergency services, agriculture, and logistics are being validated. The infrastructure opportunity extends beyond urban vertiports to rural networks supporting aircraft conversions and diverse applications. As Wright's company Landings builds a network of 2,000+ rural vertiports, the market is arriving now across multiple aircraft categories.
