Pipistrel

Stop by the Pitt Meadows airport near Vancouver soon and you might catch a glimpse of what Pipistrel Aircraft hopes is the future of flight. The Slovenia aircraft builder’s Canadian distributor, Pipistrel Aircraft Canada Inc., recently delivered the first completely electric two-seat Alpha Electro to a customer near Vancouver. While the aircraft arrived in a […]

Slovenian aircraft maker Pipistrel is forging ahead with production plans for the Alpha Electro electric-powered two-seater and hybrid Panthera four-seater in a deal with a Chinese entrepreneur to build airplanes in China. Pipistrel founder Ivo Boscarol owns 51 percent of the newly formed Pipistrel Asia-Pacific joint venture, with the remaining 49 percent controlled by Chinese […]

The Pipistrel Panthera continues to progress toward certification, but the airplane that enters production will incorporate a vast number of design alterations — some minor, some major — that the Slovenian manufacturer hopes will make the sleek four-seater an even more attractive product. According to Pipistrel CEO Ivo Boscarol, the biggest change to the production […]

Morning fog gradually gave way to sunny skies and pleasant temperatures near 80 degrees as the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo opened its doors to the LSA community yesterday at the Sebring Regional Airport in central Florida. It was a marked difference from last year’s show, when wind and rain put a damper on the five-day […]

The thought of an Extra 300 tearing up the sky in near total silence is unfathomable to aerobatic fans expecting a routine that’s part gyrating airplane and part roaring piston engine. But that was in the old days, before Siemens announced in April it was planning to hitch its new 260 kw electric motor to […]

Pipistrel of Slovenia is at AERO Friedrichshafen in Germany showing off the first hybrid airplane in general aviation, the Hybrid Pantera born as a result of its Hypstair project. The sleek four-seater is powered by a Siemens 200 kW electric motor and a Rotax 914 turbocharged gasoline engine that is used to drive the electric […]

A new hybrid electric motor developed through a project named Hypstair has the potential to make a breakthrough in emission-free propulsion in aviation. The motor is being tested on a Pipistrel airplane and was recently powered up for the first time at the factory in Ajdovscina, Slovenia. Hypstair claims its 200 kW motor is the […]

During the past few years, electricity has started to prove itself as a viable mode of aircraft propulsion, with several versions showing increasing range and capability. However, no company has yet to introduce a practical electric airplane to the commercial market. Earlier this year Airbus flew the all-electric E-Fan and announced its intent to bring […]

Pipistrel has received some good news that will allow the Slovenian company to continue to deliver its LSAs to customers in the United States. Representatives from the FAA have gone through the company’s manufacturing plants in Slovenia and Italy, conducting an operations audit that verified Pipistrel’s products, production organization, continued airworthiness procedures, maintenance aspects and […]

Pipistrel has reported to Flying that its Panthera four-seater aircraft development program is suffering a considerable delay. The holdup, according to Pipistrel CEO Ivo Boscarol, is due to Lycoming’s decision not to certify its four-cylinder IO-390 engine for auto fuel use, a key feature for Pipistrel in creating the Panthera. Lycoming declined to comment on […]