Pipistrel had a good week at Oshkosh. Shortly after its G4 placed ninth in the Dead Grass Awards, an indication of the number of spectators who tramped around the perimeter of the displayed aircraft, the company could announce the first test flight of the four-seat electric motorglider. “We are pleased to announce that after long and demanding work nearly of a nearly 30-member team of developers and constructors from Pipistrel’s R & D Institute the first 4-seat electric aircraft in the world took off this morning [August 12, 2011] at 7 AM local time.” Pipistrel overcame several difficulties in achieving this milestone. Developing the electric power system, the most powerful currently in an aircraft, and importing the 450 pounds of lithium-polymer batteries needed to energize it presented many issues. Perhaps the utterly new and unique design and the possibility of that many batteries self-igniting caused insurance companies to be more than normally cautious, although one did finally step forward. Because …
A Great Year and Gala Day for Yuneec
Last year, we knew Yuneec for its tidy power package for paramotors, the 10 kW EPac. We were awaiting developments on the EP200, a twin-motored, single-place ultralight that looked as though it would be powered by two EPac units. Springtime, 2009 brought the news that a two-seater was under development, and summer brought surprise after surprise. The 40 kW (54 horsepower) E430 made its first flights on June 12, 2009, followed by further testing on June 20. Test pilot Sun Xun managed two flights of 15 minutes, achieving a top speed of 150 kilometers per hour (93 mph) a climb rate of 7 meters per second (1,377 feet per minute), and a maximum altitude of 300 meters (960 feet). Sun commented on the quiet and smooth nature of motor operation. The prototype was quickly bundled up and shipped to Camarillo, California, where test pilot Dave Morss and members of EAA Chapter 723 gave the airplane a more stringent shakedown, in …