The Ypselon – Beauty Two Years in the Future

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 2 Comments

Dan Johnson, reporting on his web site, said that on seeing this lovely display item at the E-Flight Expo at Aero 2015, he “was tempted to pass by as merely a concept that might go nowhere.”  His talk with the designer, airline pilot David De Ridder, convinced him that this project has funding and substance behind it. Don’t send a deposit check just yet.  De Ridder told Johnson that the development of the aircraft should be finished by 2017 and kits should be available by 2019.  In the meantime, the project’s web site provides a tantalizing vision of what could be in electric light sport aircraft. Although the site is an alluring demonstration of computer graphics and slick word play, the numbers in the specifications section (subject to change without notice), are something that might be accountable, and don’t seem unduly optimistic, given current technology.  A maximum cruising speed of 173 knots (199 mph) and economical cruising speed of 130 …