FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Aviation manufacturers face challenges of designing aircraft that are personalized, safe, environmentally friendly, and affordable. Pipistrel is designing aircraft that raise the bar in manufacturing while meeting the challenges of an evolving global environment.
DETAILS: FLYING’s Thom Patterson talks with Andrew Chan about the efficiency of Pipistrel aircraft, eVTOL cargo platforms and recharge turnaround times.
SPEAKER: Chan is Right Rudder Aviation’s COO and co-founder.
BIO: Chan holds several pilot certificates including CFI instrument-airplane, CFI-glider, and airframe and powerplant mechanic. His instructional specialties include bush flying, aerobatics, and advanced transitions. Chan is also the manager of the Inverness Airport (KINF), and proudly serves on the board of directors of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE).
KEY QUOTES FROM CHAN:
“Pipistrel introduced the Alpha Electro back in 2014 as one of the first commercially available electric airplanes. That’s a battery technology from that era, and we’ve seen since that time battery technology improve significantly. It continues to improve almost every single day. So, the charge times obviously depend on the type of electricity you have at the site but can be as little as 30 minutes, so it really can be a quick turnaround time.”
“Pipistrel began their ventures into the eVTOL world when the Uber Elevate program was launched. Pipistrel was one of the initial partners with Uber on that product. However, seeing the difficulties that the feds have faced in determining how to certify an electric airplane, Pipistrel looked at that and said, ‘It’s going to be a while before the feds really approve eVTOL for passenger use.’ They shifted their efforts. They took the same technology and focused it around a cargo platform.”
“The Nuva has been announced and the reception within the industry has been amazing. Already, a large number of orders for that product. It will be [a] point-to-point, very efficient method for getting cargo from where it needs to be, that last-mile challenge.”
