ABOVE: The build of serial number 00001 is officially underway
Denver, Colorado-based Bye Aerospace has officially commenced the construction of its first all-electric eFlyer 2, with the resulting full-scale aircraft to “undergo extensive aerodynamic testing derisking the remaining certification compliance tasks”.
Bye Aerospace is targeting the training sector with its all-electric, two-seat, fixed-gear, low-wing eFlyer two; a “clean-sheet design that maximises aerodynamic efficiency and incorporates lightweight composites”. The company estimates that its aircraft could reduce operating costs by up to 80% and cut maintenance requirements by up to 75%.
With assembly of the first unit underway at Bye Aerospace’s facilities at Denver’s Centennial Airport – something CEO Rod Zastrow described as “a historic moment for our company and the aviation industry as a whole” – the company moves a step nearer to its goal of “disrupting aviation flight training”.
The eFlyer2 is the first ever applicant for 14 CFR Part 23, Amendment 64 (all-electric) FAA certification, with the regulator already having accepted the manufacturer’s design, test and safety plans. The clean-sheet design builds on Bye Aerospace’s experience of retrofitting a Cessna 172 ‘s internal combustion engine to “demonstrate the feasibility of all-electric aircraft propulsions”. The eFlyer 4 – a four-seat variant “which shares a majority of design and composition with its eFlyer 2 forerunner” – is also being planned.
IMAGE: BYE AEROSPACE
