Bye Aerospace eFlyer 2 electric two-seater enters production

Bye Aerospace announced the beginning of production of its eFlyer 2 electric two-seater aircraft. The assembly of the fuselage was scheduled with Composites Universal Group (CUG) in Oregon, United States. 

The aircraft manufacturer said it entered discussions with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)  in order to certify the eFlyer 2. A total of three production aircraft are planned, which will all participate in the certification process initiated with the FAA. Bye Aerospace is aiming to obtain the FAA Part-23 certification for the eFlyer 2 for the professional flight training mission. 

In November 2020, the Colorado-based manufacturer chose the Engineus 100 electrical motor developed by Safran to power the eFlyer 2 (as well as the quadri-seater eFlyer 4), coupled with lithium batteries. “We concluded that the ENGINeUS smart electric motor TM  100 Safran was the optimal production solution to meet the stringent requirements of the FAA and EASA certification timetable for eFlyer eFlyer 2 and 4," George E. Bye, CEO of Bye Aerospace said. The motor weighs a mere 18 kilos, about 90 kilos less than the combustion engine powering a Cessna 172. “Benefits include five-fold lower operating costs, no CO2 emissions, and decreased noise,” it claims in a statement. Eventually, Bye Aerospace expects that the eFlyer will prevent the release of several million tonnes of CO2 each year.

Bye Aerospace claims a total order book of 711 aircraft. Among them, the Norwegian group OSM Aviation hopes to become the world’s first pilot training school to go full electric. On April 11, 2019, it placed an order of 60 eFlyer 2 electric aircraft, “the largest order for commercial electric planes to date,” according to group CEO Espen Høiby.