Pie in the Swiss Sky

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Pie Aeronefs is a small firm in Switzerland, specializing in battery-powered aviation, and close to flying its single-seat air racer, the UR-1 Devil.  We reported on this machine in 2021 at an early stage in its development, and now it’s going to be available as a kitplane.  Adding to a bumper crop, their UG-2 Bullfinch will also be available as a kit. Pronouncing that their aircraft are all zero-emissions machines, Swiss made, and innovative, Pie Aeronefs has this manifesto on its home page: “Pie Aeronefs is a Swiss all-electric aircraft manufacturer. “Through distributed electric propulsion, our zero carbon emitting airplanes shall surpass the performance of conventionally powered competitors. “Thanks to an innovative design, our aircraft are optimized for the electric …

Joby Gets Certified, Stock Jumps

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“Joby Aviation has received a Federal Aviation Administration Special Airworthiness Certificate for the first aircraft built at its pilot production line in Marina, California, allowing Joby to begin flight testing of its first production prototype” according to Dan Carney’s reporting in Design News. Having visited the Woodpecker Ridge development site and written about Joby Energy and Joby Aviation since 2010, your editor has seen remarkable progress in the company.  JoeBen Bevirt had about a dozen engineers working in his design studio then, and that has steadily grown to around 1,300 employees today spread over several workshops and administrative offices along the central California coastline. What is This Thing Called, Love? From the paperwork in the Federal Register detailing Joby’s application …

Electric Aircraft Sales Tell the Tale

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Electric aircraft sales told the tale at this year’s Paris Air Show.  European and American firms sold, or received letters of intent for, hundreds of craft, especially of interest in the electric, hydrogen, and hybrid categories we’ll discuss here.  We will have subsequent entries on other craft of interest at the show and the commercial possibilities they encompass. Afrijet’s electric intentions French airframer Aura Aero signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for “multiple electric aircraft” at the Paris Air Show.  This came a day after a Philippine-based Asian aerospace firm signed a Letter of Intent for three electric aircraft with Aura Aero. The 19-passenger, eight motor, ecologically friendly aircraft has an all-up weight of 8.6 tons and a hybrid cruising …

Whisper Jet Unveiled

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Mark Moore had a long career at NASA, followed by his leadership of Uber Elevate, the car-sharing service’s attempt to emulate their terrestrial cab competition in a more skyward realm.  Moore left all that behind to form his own company, Whisper Aero, which recently unveiled its Whisper Jet electric ducted fan propulsor. “Whisper” is more than just a trade name here.  Moore and his team have created an electric ducted fan propulsion system that seems to be far quieter than anything else flying.  Whisper Aero plans to supply these systems to airframe manufacturers, but not to produce any aircraft itself. What’s All the Noise About? Moore works from the standpoint that reducing noise is paramount in gaining community acceptance of …

Electra Rolls Out a Full-size Demonstrator

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Starting small, Electra Aero has rolled out a two-seat demonstrator of its multi-motor, blown-lift technology.  Bright yellow, the EL-2 “Goldfinch” celebrates “the beloved, nimble American Goldfinch bird indigenous to North America,” according to the company.  Its full-scale production aircraft will carry nine. John S. Langford, Founder and CEO of Electra.aero explains, “In the three years since we founded Electra, we’ve designed our eSTOL aircraft, validated our blown lift technology with a sub-scale demonstrator, and run a fully integrated test of our 150-kilowatt hybrid-electric generator at full scale.  Now we’re ready to test the entire system with this technology demonstrator aircraft. We can’t wait to fly this plane and show the world what our eSTOL aircraft can do.” Chris Courtin, Chief …

Miguel Iturmendi Hits New Heights

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The Perlan Project has special words for one of their pilots.  “It’s a big day for electric aviation and soaring. This morning after months of preparation, Perlan Pilot Miguel Iturmendi made 2 world altitude record claims for electric aviation under 500kg — max. Altitude and highest altitude in level flight, 16,000 feet in a motor glider! The new claim is 60% higher than the previous record. Congratulations Miguel!” Miguel has been higher, including a trip to 65,000 feet in 2019.  As pilots for the Perlan Project, Miguel and Chief Pilot Jim Payne hit a record height that day, although not the ultimate height for Perlan.  It’s not Miguel’s first, and probably won’t be his last record. He’s already gone to …

VoltAero in Three Flavors

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Jean Botti has had a remarkable career on two continents, culminating in his leadership of French company VoltAero, which offers its latest hybrid aircraft in three flavors.  It’s all based on a modular design which shares a three-lifting-surface aerodynamic platform. As the company notes, “First to enter service will be the Cassio 330, with five seats and powered by the 330-kilowatt electric-hybrid propulsion system. VoltAero’s follow-on six-seat Cassio 480 will have an electric-hybrid propulsion power of 480 kilowatts, while the Cassio 600 is sized at a 12-seat capacity with electric-hybrid propulsion power of 600 kilowatts.” The 330 has a wingspan of 32 feet eight inches and a maximum takeoff weight of 4,255 pounds (1,930 kilograms).  480 and 600 models share …

ZeroAvia and Natilus Partner on Blended Wing Cargo Plane

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ZeroAvia, maker of hydrogen-Electric powerplants for zero-emission aviation, has been selected to partner with Natilus, “a leading innovator in designing and developing new autonomous blended-wing-body (BWB) cargo aircraft.”  Kona, smallest of the pack, will carry a 3.8-ton (7,600-pound), while Natilus’ web site shows three additional BWBs, jumping to 60, 100, and 130 tons cargo-carrying capacity and maximum takeoff weights of up to nearly a million pounds. For a fact sheet on all the designs, click here. As an option to conventional turboprops, two ZeroAvia’s ZA600s producing 600 kilowatts (804 horsepower) each will power Kona, with its 26-meter (85-foot) wingspan capable of carrying its load 900 nautical miles (1,667 kilometers) at a cruising speed of 220 knots (407 kilometers) per hour. …

eHang Near Chinese Certification

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Last September, eHang announced their EH216 is close to certification by the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) and revealed some astounding numbers. The EH216 (two seats, 16 rotors) has over 30,000 safe flights to its credit.  An even stronger sign that eHang is headed toward commercial operations – its safety video.  You don’t need to be conversant in Mandarin or Cantonese to get it.  Preparing for customer operations is a clear sign of intent. According to eHang, a “Project Specific Certification Plan has been officially approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (“CAAC”).  At present, various specified review subjects have been confirmed, including performance and flight, structural strength, design and configuration, ground control station, airborne human-computer interaction, totality, …

Light Electric Aircraft at Aero Expo

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Three companies presented electric versions of their light electric aircraft at Friedrichshafen, Germany this year.  From a WWII replica to a high- and low-wing pair of Part 103-compliant craft, to a very modern trainer, the three represent increasing sophistication in light aircraft. Elektra Trainer Dr. Birgit Weissenbach shared that as the only approved electric aircraft in its class, the Elektra Trainer also gained Aero Expo’s Innovation Award 2023 from Aerokurier.  We’ve described the technical details of the airplane in a February entry about its certification, and highlighted its development through many other entries.   Dr. Wiessenbach noted,“What is particularly pleasing is that this year’s reader  award was drawn not only among electric aircraft, of which there are currently not that …