Engineers at Pipistrel must not sleep in too often. This company, which won the NASA efficiency challenge several times — in 2011 taking home a $1.35 million cash prize! — just unveiled a full-size version of a sleek four seat design called the Panthera. Now on the other end of the spectrum comes their Alpha Trainer, a reasonably priced LSA model aimed at the flight instruction market. Their range of models is broad running from powered sailplanes to multiple LSA models.
*** “Pipistrel is proud to announce the successful conclusion of the test flights program and the release of our new aircraft, the Alpha Trainer,” announced the company, which operates production facilities in Slovenia and Italy. Developed as a basic military aircraft trainer at the request of certain countries, Alpha is supplied in nosewheel-only configuration, part of a slate of decisions to hold down the price.
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Pipistrel Comes Through Again
Just a few short months ago I posted an announcement from Pipistrel about its upcoming, mid-$80K ALPHA Trainer, targeted for flight schools and already bought in significant quantities by the Indian Air Force as a military primary trainer. *** ALPHA was promised for April, and Pipistrel nailed it – how often do we see that in manufacturing?Pipistrel is the same progressive Slovenian company that won the CAFE electric flight competition last year with the Taurus Electro G4 and has gained a growing reputation in the sport aviation industry for innovative, high-performing, highly efficient aircraft such as the Virus and Sinus S-LSA.After keeping its promise to debut the ALPHA in April at the European AERO show, word comes from Ivo Boscarol and company of the successful conclusion of flight testing. The ALPHA is now in production. *** The original concept was to create a do-it-all trainer that would garner substantial orders, enabling mass production economies of scale that would keep costs affordable for everyone.
Pipistrel’s Twin Taurus… Could They Win Again?
Question: What looks like two motorgliders flying in really tight formation sharing an engine… er, a motor, literally between them? Can this Burt Rutan-looking aircraft (photo) win the big dough? And I mean seriously big money with a purse of $1,650,000! *** Called the Pipistrel Taurus G4, the prize-seeking aircraft rolled out of the Pipistrel factory in Slovenia for the first time recently. After posing briefly for the camera, G4 taxied away quietly under electric power for the start of the flight testing program. *** Pipistrel previously won a big NASA check with their Virus SW but the company has now taken a wholly different approach, based on rules which give seat-mile advantage to four seater models. *** “This aircraft is the first four-place electric aircraft to be flown in the world,” stated Pipistrel. Their Taurus Electro claimed to be the first two-place electric aircraft to be flown in the world four years earlier.
Triple Play: Pipistrel Wins SLSA Approvals
After a pause in new SLSA, Pipistrel burst onto the scene with multiple approvals, three at once reports Michael Coates, the importer for Pipistrel USA. We raced to get these placed on the SLSA List because it’s news, but also because FAA uses this list to verify new models before assigning them N-numbers. FAA Registration Branch checks to make sure company names and other info matches incoming applications; we had three calls last week from producers who requested minor changes to our SLSA List after the agency raised questions. *** Now that list swells to 118 models. Pipistrel, which makes long-winged models that soar well, got the Virus approved in both airplane and glider categories, no small achievement. They also gained approval for their Taurus motorglider. The Slovenian company — with production facilities in nearby Italy (partly an effort to adhere to the U.S. government’s bilateral agreement requirement… dull, yes, but important legally) — has been in the news for their electric airplanes and has announced a supersleek four seater, the Panthera.
Money from the Sky; Pipistrel Wins Big!
We’ve all heard the line: To make a small fortune in aviation, start with a big one. Yet thanks to Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation and NASA, the laws of gravity seem reversed. A Pipistrel Virus (say: “VeerUs”) went home from the Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) Challenge event with four checks totaling (are you ready for this!?): $160,000. The money represents the biggest share of $250,000 awared for this first year of five contest seasons. Australian pilot and LSA businessman Michael Coates flew a modified version of the Pipistrel Virus owned by Vance Turner (photo, on right) of Rescue, California. Lots more details are available; read the rest of the story. *** Virus, sibling of the motorglider Sinus. (“SeenUs”), took the best overall prize ($100,000); efficiency ($25,000); short runway ($25,000); and second place in the top speed prize ($10,000).
Magical Merlin Motorglider Goes Both Ways: Part 103 or Motorglider; Gas or Electric
Regular readers know I have closely followed the Merlin developments. I use plural because developer Chip Erwin has steadily built this single seat flying machine into a whole fleet of its own. At Sun ‘n Fun we saw a display of three airplanes in different variations.
Let’s begin with a focus on the modest cost of Merlin. I promote affordable aviation all day long. That word “affordable” means something different to every single pilot so every time I use the word someone is going to tell me, “It’s still too expensive.”
Look I get it. I’m a consumer, too. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a deal? So here’s the short answer: “Finished Price: $34,000.” That’s a direct quote from Aeromarine-LSA. I know some may say that doesn’t work for them but in this day and age, that is a bargain for a ready-to-fly aircraft. When that buys an airplane built like Merlin Lite, one equipped the way Chip has configured it, I consider that one of the great values in aviation.
Should Your Out-Back, Off-Airport “Sky Jeep” Go Electric? Here’s One Answer…
Zenith’s headline read: “All-electric Zenith ‘Sky Jeep’ completes first flight, with plans to transport doctors and medical supplies in remote areas of the world.” Several aviation publishers jumped on the news* from light kit-built market leader, Zenith Aircraft.
I’m curious what you think of (1) electric propulsion on any aircraft and (2) electric power for an aircraft used, let’s say, for exploring. If you have an opinion and care to share it, use the comment feature.
To date, most electric-propulsion entries have been sleeker designs. Pipistrel has been a leader in this class; they got their start building sailplanes and motorgliders and never lost their preference for clean, smooth shapes. Many others also participated (nearby images).
Bye Aerospace’s eFlyer continues its long path toward the market. This development company based its aircraft on Arion’s Lightning airframe, a smart choice as Lightning is so smoothly constructed. This article describes what was then called Sun Flyer.
2022 In Review — How Did LSA and Sport Pilot Kit Aircraft Fare During a Turbulent Year?
The year started with hope. As 2022 arrived, America and most countries (China excepted) were emerging from two years of difficult lockdowns and Covid. The good news was that a flood of money from the U.S. government had buoyed the stock market and I’ve long observed that in a rising equities market, LSA and SP kit aircraft sell well.
No one thinks this is because anyone sells stock to buy a Light-Sport Aircraft. Rather, it’s something economists call the “wealth effect,” where rising asset values give stockholders confidence that good times are here and they can buy an airplane to have fun.
Then… Russia invaded Ukraine and global markets trembled.
Despite a year of war, of plunging stock markets and sky-high energy prices, of protests and riots in multiple countries, plus on-going supply chain strains and lingering Covid fears, the light aircraft nonetheless grew by a very healthy 18%, after rising 10% in 2021.
Jabiru Engines Approaching 8,000 Engines Produced — Plus, Our List Reporting Every LSA Engine
When I was a kid, I was a New York Yankees baseball fan. Why? I’d never been to New York; I lived in the midwest. I loved the baseball team because they won a lot. The saying way back then was, “The American League battle isn’t to determine who wins, but which team might come in second.” Everybody knew the Yankees would win again. (As I said, this was some time back in history.)
In light aviation, we have a roughly similar situation. Rotax provides somewhere around 70-80% of all engines for aircraft in the light aircraft space globally. The remaining 20-30% is divided between Continental or Titan, Jabiru, ULPower, and a growing collection of converted auto engines (though the latter, without ASTM approval, are used only on kit aircraft or ELSAs).
US Sport Planes owner Scott Severen, who represents Jabiru in America, declared for the Australian manufacturer, “The 4,000th Jabiru 2200 four-cylinder, 81-horsepower engine [was] recently produced at the Jabiru facility.” And, he added, “The 3300 engine [series is] fast approaching this number, too.”
So, Jabiru may not be #1, but the “down-under” company achieved a significant benchmark when they shipped number 4,000 of the 2200 series.
Oshkosh 2022 – Day 4… TAF’s Sling HW with Rotax 915 is a Big, Comfortable Lightplane
Somewhere, it seems like a group of light plane developers must have held a meeting and decided that low wing manufacturers needed to broaden their line to include high wings. A batch of new models has been unveiled or announced this year. (Article updated 2PM – 7/29 Fri — new image of the gorgeous taildragger; see below)
Did these builders not notice the industry already has a whole slew of popular high wing models? Some, like Flight Design’s CT series, has been a market leader since the beginning. Companies in the list below didn’t follow the leader then? Why now?
Of course, no such industry agreement happened. Each company examined their lines and chose individually to go forward with their designs. Honestly, they’ve all come out so recently they could not have coordinated such a broad launch in a single year even if they tried.
Nonetheless, here they are, one after another.
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