The Colorado start-up forecasts that the aircraft’s all-electric design will slash operating costs up to 80%.
Bye Aerospace has completed the first flight of its two-seat all-electric eFlyer 2, from Centennial airport in Arapahoe County, Colorado.
The pilot-training aircraft, designed with a lightweight carbon composite airframe and lithium-ion batteries for power, offers a new look into a future of using all-electric aircraft to reduce operating costs and eliminate emissions.
The aircraft flew on 17 September but the company disclosed the milestone on 24 September.
Bye Aerospace chief executive officer Rod Zastrow tells FlightGlobal that for the aircraft’s first flight, the team opted for a “conservative profile,” limiting it to basic functions and keeping the duration of the flight “relatively short” – approximately 5-6min.
However, Zastrow emphasises that within that time they “got a lot done” when it came to validating certain aspects of the aircraft’s performance. According to Zastrow, “The first flight of eFlyer 2 exceeded all… expectations in terms of aerodynamics, handling, propulsion and overall performance – and there were no maintenance discrepancies during the flight.”
Zastrow tells FlightGlobal that the Bye Aerospace team was particularly pleased with the eFlyer 2’s power and climb rate.
“The feeling here is one of elation when the aircraft not only took off but when it started climbing and climbing at a rate that we hadn’t anticipated” says Zastrow. “The pilot had to pull the power back because it was accelerating vertically so fast.”
Beyond flight capabilities, Zastow notes the aircraft showed strong economic promise, stating that the energy cost of the flight was just $1 in electricity. He emphasises that “if [they] had a conventional or legacy type of aircraft in this class, it would have been about $10,” meaning that the energy costs of the eFlyer 2 “were about 90% less than a current generation of aircraft”.
With disruptively lower energy expenses, Zastrow says Bye Aerospace “forecast[s] a 75 to 80% operating cost reduction for [their] eventual customers”.
Driving down these expenses through the use of an all-electric propulsion system is part of Bye Aerospace’s broader mission to “allow flight training organisations, air taxi operators and private owners to break free from high and uncertain fossil fuel prices, and crippling engine overhaul backlogs”.
The two-seat eFlyer 2 competes with traditional trainers like Cessna 172s and Piper Archers, and with new all-electric types like Textron-owned Pipistrel’s already certificated Velis Electro and Czech firm BRM Aero’s in-development Bristell B23 Energic.
Bye Aerospace plans to continue with its flight test programme – incorporating battery flight tests to establish top speed and stall speed in different configurations as well as build confidence in the aircraft’s electric propulsion system – as it works towards certification and production.
While the eFlyer 2 was conceived and initially intended to be certificated under Federal Aviation Administration Part 23 rules, Zastrow has said Bye Aerospace is exploring the possibility of Part 22 certification, following the introduction of the FAA Part 22 Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification rule that took effect on 24 July. The rule is intended to streamline certification.
“We will continue to investigate the viability of the Part 22, but keeping in mind that we have an incredible amount of our Part 23 programme already completed, ” says Zastrow. “I think as the industry well recognises, if we can accelerate that time frame from now through certification by taking a Part 22 pathway, we certainly would intend to do that.”
“We’re hoping to at least start that production work in 2027,” Zastrow adds. “If things go well and smoothly, we’re aiming to deliver the first one by the end of that year.”
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