October 2026 Update

Hey everyone! It is time for another monthly update!

Draco has been moving pretty quickly over the last few weeks, and a lot of the things we've talked about doing for a while are starting to come together at the same time.

One of the biggest is Rotax iS integration. We now have what we need to begin supporting the Rotax iS engine family directly, which gives Draco another completely different type of engine and data source to work with. That's something we're pretty excited about because it is exactly the kind of flexibility we wanted Draco to have from the beginning. This integration is still in its infancy, but the time required for R&D is far less than building Draco from the ground up. We are hoping to be flight testing this alongside the standard Draco model.

We're also working on something we've talked about on and off for a while now: a dedicated Draco display.

Draco was originally designed around getting accurate engine data out to other avionics and EFBs, and that isn't changing. We still really like the idea of pilots being able to choose how and where they want to see their data. We've also had enough interest in a standalone display that we decided it was time to start seriously developing one. 

It has also become a soft requirement as we look farther down the road toward certification. Relying entirely on a consumer tablet as the display creates additional certification considerations, particularly if we eventually pursue approval for Draco as a primary engine instrument. Having our own dedicated display gives us much more control over the complete system and a much cleaner path forward.

Right now we're working through the hardware and software architecture for that system, and it has been a fun change of pace for us. Instead of just worrying about acquiring and transmitting engine data, we're now also thinking about how we actually want pilots to interact with it.

We welcome any direct feedback about screen size preferences or considerations for an EIS display. There is examples out there, JPI is one that comes to mind. Given the opportunity though, we’d like to have input from the pilots out there as to what would actually be useful and make flying better, rather than producing more of the same.

On top of all of that, we had the opportunity to take Draco out into the real world again.

We were at the North Little Rock airshow this past weekend showing Draco, talking avionics, and answering tons of questions from pilots, maintenance shops, and curious airshow-goers alike.

It was a blast as always and that part is important to us.

We spend a lot of time staring at schematics, firmware, test equipment, datasheets, and whatever problem decided to appear that particular day. Events like this are a good reminder that eventually all of this stuff has to leave the bench and go into actual airplanes.

I think that's probably the biggest change happening at Atmos right now.

We're getting to the point where a lot of things that used to feel like separate projects are starting to become pieces of the same system.

Draco isn't just a circuit board on a bench anymore. We've got third-party integrations, new engine platforms coming online, our own display in development, production work happening, and more opportunities to put everything in front of actual pilots and builders.

There's still a mountain of work ahead of us. Atmos is still self-funded and just the two of us, but this is the fun part.

We're spending a lot less time asking, "Can we build this?"

And a lot more time asking, "What else should it be able to do?"

As always, if you all have any questions, suggestions, comments or concerns please feel free to email me.

 As a side note here, if you have signed up for the beta because you want to flight test Draco, please check your spam folder for my email. We have sent out a few invites and heard nothing back so I can only guess that my replies are hitting spam folders.

Thanks!

-Dalton Co-founder/Software Engineer