RX1E, Sun Flyer Both Score More than a Score (of Orders)

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

China Daily reports, “The world’s first electric passenger aircraft to gain an airworthiness certificate has been produced by China.”  Whether the “first” certification statement is true will probably become a matter of debate, with Pipistrel’s Alpha Electro being certified in France and seeking more general approvals from other countries including America.  Pipistrel has been selling a Taurus Electro G2 self-launching sailplane for the last several years, and makes the following claims for it. “Taurus Electro G2 is the only electric 2-seat aeroplane in serial production available on the market. Furthermore, Pipistrel believes it is the only truly useful electric aircraft out there, because the electric drive is applied to the glider airframe, where battery capacity is not a limiting factor in performance/endurance. Taurus Electro G2 represents a leap forward in performance, safety, functionality and user friendliness.” We noted the RX1E’s certification in the blog a few months ago.  It’s in production in China with the first two aircraft delivered to Liaoning …