All over the world, electric airplanes are getting remarkable amounts of attention, deservedly so as an exciting development to match work in cars and other vehicles. These days, while drones (also called UAVs, UASs, or RPVs) are made in various countries, a lot of the development comes from China … so why be surprised to hear of a positive development in a Chinese human-occupied aircraft?
Is it the first “certified” electric? Well, “certified” is a term that can be challenging to define as the word means different things in different countries. For example, we’ve already produced a video covering the American-designed, Chinese-developed eSpyder from Yuneec. It won German approval in 2013. My flying experience on eSpyder is documented in this article. You can also read a more encompassing electric aircraft review article from 2011, though with the rapid pace of development such articles become dated rather quickly.
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Rotax Awards Free 912 Engine to Flight School
One year ago Rotax announced a contest to award a brand-new 912 engine to the flight school that achieved the first time between overhaul (TBO) of 2,000 hours on a Rotax 912 iS model that the engine builder had just released. Upon reaching the goal, the flight school had to prove the hours by sending a copy of the logbook to their local distributor and then return the used engine to Rotax BRP in Austria.
At the end of January 2015, Rotax announced they had donated a copy of their newest Rotax 912 iS Sport engine to Madiba Bay School of Flight located in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa. “Madiba Bay achieved the first time between overhauls (TBO) of 2,000 hours on their Sling 2 equipped with a Rotax 912 iS engine,” said representatives of the big Austrian engine manufacturer.
Flight school owner Gerhard Van Eeden said, “We are pleased to be the winner of a brand-new Rotax 912 iS Sport engine.
Aeromobil, Now at Version 3.0, Nears Production
I have reported on Aeromobil before and we’ve tried to keep up with those MIT geniuses at Terrafugia and their Transition that basically reinvigorated the flying car or (as Terrafugia prefers) roadable airplane. However, saying Terrafugia reinvented the flying car is hardly fair to other producers, in this case Slovakia’s Stefan Klein. At the Pioneers Festival — an entrepreneurship and future tech event held in Vienna, Austria at the end of October 2014 — Klein and his financial associate Juraj Vaculik unveiled their latest iteration of Aeromobil, specifically model 3.0. Beside a public showing, he demonstrated its flight capabilities to the public for the first time. Think what you will of Aeromobil or Transition, or for that matter, Maverick, but these ventures continue to attract attention and sufficient funding that it’s likely we’ll see some in the sky one day.
LSA Taildraggers Broaden the Sector’s Appeal
Taildraggers may be among the least understood and most feared aircraft available in the LSA space … or for that matter throughout general aviation. While we have many good choices that I’ll list below, I have nonetheless heard from many readers or airshow visitors that they are uncertain about their operation of an aircraft that has no nosewheel. If you have no taildragger skills, you’ll also find it a challenge to get proper flight instruction in a “standard” aircraft. For those seeking new skills in flying, however, taildraggers may provide high satisfaction. Most who have crossed the barrier to taildragging subsequently look very fondly at such aircraft, seeing a sleeker yet gutsier, more rugged appearance. Of course, nosewheels dominate general aviation as they can be easier to land, especially in crosswinds, but once you learn the lesson of “happy feet” — or keeping your feet active on the rudder pedals throughout approach and touchdown — you may always yearn for more taildragger time.
FK Lightplanes/ScaleWings SW51 Makes Maiden Flight
(This article has been updated in June 2018 to reflect a new manufacturer.)
At Aero 2013, I covered one of the most interesting replica airplanes I have ever seen in many years of scouring airshows for light aircraft of interest. My videographer and I did a video story about this exciting project. The airplane was again displayed at Aero 2014 though not in such a high traffic location but that hardly dampened enthusiasm. No question … FK Lightplanes continued their approach of great showmanship in displaying the most authentically realistic reproduction of a 70% scale P-51 Mustang you can imagine. Most replicas have to approximate some qualities but FK Lightplanes and their design partner, Austria-based ScaleWings AeroTec, made what they are now calling SW51 into something different. It has detail beyond what you can envision without seeing the construction in person.
First named FK51, SW51 reproduces the 100,000 or so rivets and screws that put together an original World War II vintage P-51 Mustang.
Sonex Roars, Purrs, & Glides; Factory-Built Van’s
Two key members of AKIA stopped by the LSA Mall at the new & improved Paradise City last week. AKIA? The Aircraft Kit Industry Association is a new group formed in July last year seeking cooperation between kit aircraft builders. Leaders include Van’s Aircraft and Sonex. Both have been making Light-Sport models, or what more correctly might be called “Sport Pilot eligible” or “Light-Sport-compliant aircraft.” Experimental Amateur Built (EAB) aircraft are technically not LSA even if they meet all parameters. Sonex and Van’s are upstanding producers of very popular aircraft and they have their eyes clearly on the light aircraft sector that is showing great resilience in a perpetually sluggish economy. Each company has too much info to fully cover here but a birds-eye view may encourage you to seek more.
Sonex Aircraft is based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, right across the field from EAA’s headquarters. The company is so active on so many fronts that I will only provide a general view.
Affordable EMG … Electric Motor Glider
Update 8/8/14 — See our video interview about EMG at the end. An unpowered EMG — or Electric Motor Glider — from Adventure Aircraft has already taken 400 flights; it has also been fitted with a small electric motor … complete with carbon folding prop. A new Experimental Amateur Built (EAB) two seater is now taking shape and both variations were on exhibit at AirVenture 2014 in the newly named Fun Fly Zone (formerly Ultralight Area). EMG’s spark is provided by the dynamic duo of Brian and Carol Carpenter of Rainbow Aviation, well known for their LSA maintenance courses including the LSR-M (Light-Sport Repairman Maintenance) credential that has prepared many mechanics to do serious work on the growing fleet of LSA. EMG builder Adventure Aircraft is a subsidiary of Rainbow. Evidently this hard working pair aren’t fond of wasting many hours with something so mundane as sleep because the project is unfolding quite swiftly.
First Searey Amphib Flight School & Design News
It’s summertime and the flying is easy … especially when it’s on the water. That’s fine for everybody who is already qualified. What if you’re new to seaplanes (or LSA in general)? How could you obtain instruction if you want to buy a new Searey? Training is optimal when done in a very similar airplane if not the same exact model you have in mind. Insurance companies may require aircraft-specific preparation. “With the addition of a [factory-built] Searey to its fleet, Chesapeake Sport Pilot flight school has become the first flight school in the world to offer flight training on the popular amphibious light sport seaplane,” said spokesperson Helen Woods of the Stevensville, Maryland company. Chesapeake also teaches in other LSA models. Chief Flight Instructor Woods reports 300 Seareys flying in the U.S. and over 500 flying world wide. “Until now, it was often difficult to obtain quality training to fly a Searey,” said Helen, “since a pilot had to own his own Searey before receiving training.” Chesapeake supplies a Searey as part of their training course.
Airbus Goes Electric and Small (with Big Ideas)
As we all get packing for Oshkosh where we’ll see all manner of aircraft, one of the biggest manufacturers revealed one of the smallest airplanes at another airshow: Farnborough in England, an event dominated by military and airline producers. More surprisingly, Airbus announced at Farnborough that it would put into production their all-electric-powered E-Fan. Big aircraft, the buses of the sky, are good at moving people to their destination. However, they are very noisy and consume oceans of fuel leading to more pollution. Can this situation improve? Is it even reasonable to consider an electric-powered airliners? Some experts scoff at the idea but Airbus’ E-Fan made a powerful, if relatively quiet, statement.
Airbus’ E-fan made its first flight at a French airport near Bordeaux on March 11th this year. The project reportedly evolved from work with the tiniest airplane most AirVenture visitors have seen. Airbus used an electric-powered Cri-Cri as a test bed to develop their battery and energy management technology.
Electric Trike Soars (Literally) into Record Book
On Saturday, June 21 with a good crowd watching, an electric-powered trike took off and climbed into the FAI record book, or will after the organization’s normal process is followed. Let me state right up front that this story was recently released on AOPA’s ePilot written by our journalist friend Jim Moore. Despite appearing in the big member organization’s eNewsletter, the story was too cool for me to pass up for ByDanJohnson.com plus, as usual, I have an additional perspective to offer. The images are all courtesy of record-holder-to-be, Gary Davis. If you click the link above you can read Jim’s whole article; I encourage you to do so.
As Jim wrote Gary flipped the switch and flew, “a custom combination of a North Wing Stratus trike wing matched to an electric-powered trike frame designed by Randall Fishman.” We have a number of articles and videos about Randall’s pioneering work.
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