Great minds tend in the same directions. Newton and Leibniz both came up with the calculus at roughly the same time, both goaded to develop a way to determine the orbit of Halley’s Comet. So it’s no surprise that two different groups would come up with similar solutions to developing a backup hybrid system for light aircraft. Within weeks of one another, Spain’s UC3M and Israel’s Ashot Ashkelon both unveiled add-on hybrid systems for Rotax engines. Aviation Week identifies the second team’s players in its report. “An innovative hybrid propulsion system (HPS) for light aircraft – manned or unmanned – is being unveiled here at the Paris Air Show. The HPS was developed by an international consortium headed by Israel’s Ashot Ashkelon, Italian light aircraft developer CFM Air and Italian hybrid propulsion specialist Efesto.” Similar to the Madrid University’s design, Ashot Ashkelon’s system includes a new propeller shaft, a new gearbox developed by Ashot, a DC/AC power converter and controller, …