Elixir Aircraft Signs Mermoz Academy Order, Plans Sarasota Assembly in Florida

The French manufacturer has gone from concept to delivering 10 aircraft in just seven years.

Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 12:27 PM ET

Verified

At AERO 2023, the Elixir team toasted the agreement with Mermoz Academy in France to purchase 6 of its 100 hp training aircraft. [Credit: Julie Boatman]

Key Takeaways:

Elixir Aircraft has rapidly grown from a 2015 startup to delivering its first aircraft in 2022 and securing 70 firm orders, demonstrating significant success in just seven years.
The company's two-seater aircraft features an innovative "OneShot" carbon fiber composite structure with minimal parts, leading to manufacturing efficiencies and low operating costs of around $37/hour, ideal for training.
Elixir is expanding its market, recently signing a deal with Mermoz Academy in France and planning to open a U.S. assembly facility in Florida to cater to the significant American aviation market.

See a mistake? Contact us.

From zero to delivering aircraft in just seven years, Elixir Aircraft can be justifiably proud of its success. But this is only the beginning for the French light aircraft manufacturer, which presented its latest progress—and a new sales agreement signed—at AERO 2023 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, on April 19.

Elixir co-founder, CMO, and COO Cyril Champenois delivered the update at a press briefing in which he confirmed the company’s engineering origins, and its proactive timeline starting in 2015. “At that time, we created the company with 50,000 euros,” said Champenois. “After seven years we are now almost 100 employees in the company, and we are growing fast. After two years to conceive the design for the Elixir, three years to certify it, and seven years [total] to deliver the first aircraft, we are now reaching 70 firm orders for our aircraft.”