Norwegian flight school OSM Aviation Academy has made a commitment for up to 60 two-place eFlyer 2 electric trainers from Bye Aerospace, bringing the total number of order for the newly rebranded aicraft to nearly 300.
Bye Aerospace rebranded its family of electric aircraft formerly known as Sun Flyer to eFlyer, reflecting the change in design away from solar power, said George Bye, founder and CEO of Bye Aerospace.
“We originally thought solar cells would be standard on the airplane’s wings,” he said. “However, with eFlyer’s primary markets being flight training and air-taxi services, it makes more sense to make the price of the airplane as reasonable as possible.”
The eFlyer family of aircraft, including the two-seat eFlyer 2 and the four-seat eFlyer 4, aims to be the first FAA-certified, practical, all-electric airplanes to serve the flight training and general aviation markets, Bye said.
To date, Bye Aerospace has received 298 total customer commitments for both aircraft.
“It is important that the airline industry steps up to the challenge of developing more environmentally friendly transportation, said Espen Høiby, CEO of OSM Aviation Group, a leading provider of air crews for the international airline industry. “We are committed to a socially responsible and sustainable business.”
Powered by a Siemens propulsion system including a 57-pound SP70D electric motor with 90kW peak output (120 hp) and continuous power setting of up to 70kW (94 hp), the eFlyer 2 is undergoing testing at Denver Centennial Airport.
