Bye Aerospace has received a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the US FAA for its eFlyer 2, clearing the all-electric training aircraft to begin flight testing.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the certificate for the first eFlyer 2 after inspecting the aircraft at Centennial Airport near Denver, Colorado where Bye is completing flight preparations. The review covered the airframe, electric propulsion system, instruments and other functional systems.
Bye completed the aircraft’s structural build in July after months of structural testing and propulsion validation on a truck-mounted test rig it calls “The Beast.” Engineers have since carried out systems integration, further electrical validation and operational ground testing.
On the rig, the team ran the full electric powertrain and validated aircraft systems on the ground before final integration into the airframe.
Rod Zastrow, CEO of Bye Aerospace, said, “We’ve worked hand in hand with the FAA since 2016 to help advance the certification framework for electric aircraft. In just a year, we’ve built and tested this game-changing all-electric aircraft, and receiving the Special Airworthiness Certificate is an important validation of that work.”
With ground testing complete, Bye will now run a phased flight-test program that progressively expands the aircraft’s operating envelope. The certificate confirms the aircraft is airworthy and authorized to fly.
The two-seat eFlyer 2 uses a Safran ENGINeUS electric motor rated at 150hp (110kW) and is designed to fly for about three hours. The FAA had earlier ruled the aircraft eligible for certification under Part 23 – its first such approval for an all-electric type under Amendment 64 – and Bye has selected magniX battery cells for the aircraft.
Bye says the eFlyer 2 is designed to cruise at about 84mph (135km/h) and to cost roughly a fifth as much to operate as conventional piston-engined training aircraft, part of its appeal for the flight schools that have placed orders.
Bye’s combined order book for the eFlyer 2 and the four-seat eFlyer 4 stands at more than 1,000 aircraft, with customers including Spartan College of Aeronautics & Technology, Skyborne Academy, Flex Air Flight School and KLM Academy in the Netherlands.
