Bratislava, August 4, 2026 — Robert Schochmann, Founder, Schochman Aviation
On July 28, my colleague sat down at a laptop in our Bratislava office, connected to our test aircraft — the Schochman DV1 Skylark — and took control of it mid-flight. With a laptop, a joystick, and an internet connection over Starlink.
From the outside, the Skylark looks like an ordinary sport aircraft. Then the pilot on board takes his hands off the controls — and the plane keeps flying, precisely and calmly. Because someone on the ground is flying it.
Watch the flight (5 min): https://youtu.be/2GzbYhmpDz8
How it works
The remote pilot sees an exact mirror of everything happening on board: live video from the cockpit camera, sensor data, navigation. Control runs over a secured protocol and our Schochman Fly By Air technology — and this is the key detail:
The joystick on the ground doesn’t move the control surfaces directly. It sends the intent — the requested bank and pitch angles. The onboard computers process those commands 400 times per second, driving the servos in a closed feedback loop with the aircraft’s gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, inclinometers and pitot-static system.
The aircraft is always flown by its onboard computer. The remote pilot tells it what to do — not how to do it. That’s why internet latency isn’t critical: if the connection drops for a moment, the plane simply keeps flying, stable, under its onboard autopilot. Connectivity runs over Starlink with a redundant local data link as backup.
And during the entire test phase, a safety pilot sits on board. One button — and remote access is cut off, with full manual control back in his hands.
Not a drone. A platform.
This isn’t a purpose-built drone. It’s the newest capability of the Schochman AI Cockpit — the first cockpit with a full onboard AI assistant. Combining onboard and cloud compute, it continuously analyzes voice communication with air traffic control, high-quality weather data and forecasts along the route, aviation regulations, flight manuals and the aircraft’s flight envelope. The pilot has an assistant next to him that understands the whole situation around the flight.
Everything — hardware, electronics, design and software — was developed in-house in Bratislava, on an aircraft we built ourselves from a kit. In 2026, Schochman Aviation won the SISA Startup of Slovakia award.
Why this matters
Safer flight training. Every instructor knows the moment a student freezes on a solo flight. Until now, all you could do was talk to them from the tower. With our system, an instructor can take over remotely and bring them home safely.
Flights where you’d never send a pilot. Without a crew on board, the Skylark can carry hundreds of kilograms of payload — cameras, sensors, extra fuel. Wildfire monitoring, surveying contaminated areas, missions where a pilot on board is an unnecessary risk.
One system, many aircraft. It’s a modular system that can be integrated into existing airplanes, helicopters and larger drones — not tied to a single machine.
This is just the beginning
Remote flight is one new capability of a platform we keep expanding. We have more technologies in advanced development that we believe can shape where aviation goes next. More soon.
Press kit & photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mN8RysczwhcyedcqNSCzHsNo_hPUV9AD?usp=sharing Contact: www.schochman.com
