Elektra Trainer Certified

Dean Sigler Announcements, Electric Powerplants, Solar Power, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Calin Gologan has been in the electric and solar-powered airplane business for a long time.  Displaying and flying his Elektra One at Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 2011, he was early to the game.  Now, with the  his Elektra Trainer certified, relatively inexpensive flight training is imminent. Birgit Weissenbach announced the June 29 maiden flight, subsequent test flying, and January 19, 2023 certification of Elektra Solar’s two-seat, side-by-side trainer.  In a 20-minute flight from Memmingen International Airport, taking off in less than 100 meters (328 feet), the craft confirmed “the extraordinary characteristics of the aircraft, which even exceeded the expectations of the developers.”  Certification came from DULV (Deutschen Ultraleichtflugverbandes, or German Ultralight Association), as the representative of the Federal Ministry for Digital …

Elektra Trainer – Flight Training for the New Age

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Aircraft Components, Electric Aircraft Materials, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

A Decade of Development A modified version of Elektra One, flying since 2011 and certified in the German ultralight  class, Calin Gologan’s Elektra Trainer could provide affordable flight training with lower operating costs.  Calin displayed Elektra One at the 2012 AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, flying daily on the power of its solar-charged batteries. The company details its background.  ” Elektra Solar GmbH is a spin-off from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute for Robotics and Mechatronics.  The roots of the company go back to 2011. This year PC-Aero GmbH was founded in 2011 by Calin Gologan.  Elektra One electric aircraft was the first product flying in March 2011. “In the same year, we [received] the Lindbergh Prize for Electric …

Elektra Solar Launches HALE with Autonomous Control

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Solar Power, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Dr. Birgit Weißenbach of Elektra Solar GmbH and PC-Aero announced “The world’s strongest multifunctional solar-electric HALE aerial vehicle – the Elektra Two Solar: [with] “Take-off, flight and tough-down” successfully completed with [its] own autopilot system We usually think of HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) aircraft as being huge, sun-eclipsing things like AeroVironment’s flying wings or Boeing’s Phantom Eye.  These require large support systems and ground crews, much like the team that chased Solar Impulse around the world. Elektra Solar GmbH, a joint venture combining PC-Aero GmbH and Elektra UAS GmbH, uses aircraft designed by Calin Gologen, head of PC-Aero, and computer technology from Dr. Ing. Habil. Konstantin Kondak.  Since October, 2009 he headed a key research area, Flying Robots at …

Look Up and Say Cheese!  Autonomous Mapping from the Elektra One Solar

Dean Sigler Electric Aircraft Components, Solar Power, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Had the residents of Landshut, a 13th-century city in Lower Bavaria, chanced to look up at the right time over the last few weeks, they might have glimpsed a bright yellow shape looking back at them.  Calin Gologan’s latest Elektra One Solar carries a suite of cameras that can transmit 2D movies in 4K resolution to a ground station up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) away.  Through sophisticated software, the images can be translated into 3D maps with a resolution of five centimeters (just under two inches), the primary mission of the flights. Partner ViaLight, a 2009 spin-off of the DLR (the German Aerospace Center), provided the hardware and software that allows up to 100 Gbps (gigabits per second) data …

SolarStratos Unveils a High-flying Motorglider

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Raphael Domjan is an adventurer in every sense of the word.  He’s sailed around the world on solar power, and attempted to paddle his way across the Northwest Passage in a solar-powered kayak. And now, he’s revealed an airplane that could carry him to the stratosphere on solar power. SolarStratos is a 24.9-meter (81.7 feet) span motorglider shown to the public for the first time yesterday in Payerne, Switzerland.  With stage smoke and rock-concert lighting glittering from the solar cells on its wings and tail, the Calin Gologan-designed craft materialized before the crowd of 400 (according to Calin) gathered in the specially-built hangar. At a loaded weight of only 450 kilograms (990 pounds), SolarStratos should climb well on its dual motor, …