Bye Aerospace clears FAA hurdle as electric eFlyer 2 readies for first flight

Bye Aerospace has received a special airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its first eFlyer 2, a two-seat, all-electric aircraft designed for pilot training. The approval, announced on 9 September, followed an FAA inspection of the aircraft at the company’s facility at Centennial Airport near Denver, and formally authorises the start-up to begin flight testing.

The company says the certificate confirms the aircraft is airworthy, with the regulator having reviewed the airframe, electric propulsion system, instrumentation and other functional systems. Bye is now completing final inspections and operational readiness work ahead of a phased flight-test programme, and expects to conduct the first flight “soon”, without committing to a specific date.

The milestone caps years of development. Bye submitted a design and certification plan to the FAA in 2018 and subsequently flew a proof-of-concept demonstrator roughly 100 times.

Powertrain and market positioning

The eFlyer 2 is powered by a 125kW (167hp) Safran ENGINeUS 100B1 electric motor, a powerplant already certificated in Europe. Bye has targeted around two hours of flight endurance plus a 30-minute reserve — parameters aimed squarely at the training market currently served by conventionally powered aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Archer.

In the emerging electric segment, Bye faces competition from Textron-owned Pipistrel, whose Velis Electro is already certificated, and from Czech manufacturer BRM Aero’s in-development Bristell B23 Energic. Textron shares closed at $79.55, up 0.75% on the day, valuing the Industrials-sector company at roughly $14.3 billion.

Certification pathways

Chief executive Roderick Zastrow has outlined two possible routes to full certification. The first is under Amendment 64 of FAA Part 23 rules, which cover aircraft with 19 or fewer seats and maximum gross take-off weights of up to 8,618kg (19,000lb). Amendment 64, finalised in 2016, replaced prescriptive requirements with performance-based standards to streamline small-aircraft certification.

A second option is the FAA’s new Part 22 rule for “light-sport aircraft”, effective 24 July, under which manufacturers can confirm compliance with regulatory requirements themselves. Under that framework, Zastrow said, manufacturers can “certify the aircraft organically and make a statement of certification.”

What to watch

• Timing of the eFlyer 2’s first flight, which Bye has said will occur “soon”
• Progress through the phased flight-test programme and any disclosed certification-pathway decision between Part 23 Amendment 64 and Part 22
• Further milestones for the Safran ENGINeUS motor family as electric powertrains gain certifications across markets
• Competitive developments at Pipistrel, part of Textron’s eAviation portfolio, and BRM Aero’s Bristell B23 Energic programme

Source: original release