Bye Aerospace is an American

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry. ...

based in unincorporated

Arapahoe County, Colorado Arapahoe County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 655,070, making it the third-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Littleton, Colorado, Li ...

. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of

electric aircraft An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, ...

, including

unmanned aircraft An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

for geospatial role and

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft c ...

for the

flight training Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

role. The company was founded by George E. Bye, who remains the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

History

In July 2010, Bye Energy developed a proof-of-concept electrically powered Cessna 172 with support from

Cessna Aircraft Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing c ...

. Bye Energy changed its name to ''Beyond Aviation'' at the time that the prototype commenced taxi tests in July 2011. The aircraft first flew in 2012. The R&D project was not pursued for production and the company is currently dormant. The company developed the

Bye Aerospace Sun Flyer The Bye Aerospace Sun Flyer (also previously known as the Aero Electric Aircraft Corporation Sun Flyer) is an electric aircraft that was developed from the PC-Aero Elektra One by Bye Aerospace's Aero Electric Aircraft Corporation division of ...

, a modified

PC-Aero Elektra One The PC-Aero Elektra One is a single seat, electric powered composite aircraft.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 68. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Bori ...

, as a

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

electric aircraft in 2015. The development of the Sun Flyer 2 was originally carried out by a Bye Aerospace subsidiary, called the ''Aero Electric Aircraft Corporation''. As of March 2018, it was being merged into the parent company. Sun-Flyer-Prototype-mountains

By July 2015, the company was developing the Sun Flyer 2, a two-seat electric-powered aircraft for the flight training role. By March 2016, Aero Electric Aircraft Corp. has delivered the prototype for final stages of development. It was rolled-out in May 2016. By July 2016, first flight was planned in the fall. By November 2016, ground and taxi tests had begun. It was first flown on 10 April 2018. The derivative Sun Flyer 4 is a four-seat design, yet to be completed. Both aircraft are

low-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

designs, with bubble canopies, made from

composite material A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...

s, predominately

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

. Both are powered by

lithium-ion A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also sees ...

batteries. The launch customer for both the Sun Flyer 2 and 4 is the

Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology (Spartan) is a private for-profit aviation college in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was originally established to provide pilot and technicians for Spartan Aircraft Company but outlived its parent company and ...

which will employ both for flight training. By September 2018, the company had 130 deposits for the two-seat Sun Flyer 2 and 27 deposits for the larger, four-seat Sun Flyer 4. On July 31, 2018, Bye Aerospace flew a piloted prototype of its solar-powered unmanned StratoAirNet and manned Solesa from the

Northern Colorado Regional Airport Northern Colorado Regional Airport , formerly known as the Fort Collins–Loveland Municipal Airport, is a public use airport located nine nautical miles (10 mi, 17 km) southeast of the central business district of Fort Collins ...

. Based on a

carbon fiber composite Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

competition

sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

, it has a wing span and

thin-film photovoltaic cell A thin-film solar cell is a second generation solar cell that is made by depositing one or more thin layers, or thin film (TF) of photovoltaic material on a substrate, such as glass, plastic or metal. Thin-film solar cells are commercially use ...

s from SolAero Technologies. The low-cost, long-endurance commercial and government

surveillance aircraft A surveillance aircraft is an aircraft used for surveillance. They are operated by military forces and other government agencies in roles such as intelligence gathering, battlefield surveillance, airspace surveillance, reconnaissance, observa ...

could be used for

patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as Law enforcement officer, law enforcement officers, military personnel, or Security guard, security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology Fro ...

, mapping,

precision agriculture Precision agriculture (PA) is a farming management strategy based on observing, measuring and responding to temporal and spatial variability to improve agricultural production sustainability. It is used in both crop and livestock production. P ...

search-and-rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

and has low infrared and acoustic

signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...

s. Also under development, in conjunction with the XTI Aircraft Company, is the TriFan 600, a hybrid-electric VTOL business aircraft. Previously, the company developed the Silent Falcon UAV for Silent Falcon UAS Technologies. In August 2019, the company announced that it was partnering with OXIS Energy to develop a

Lithium–sulfur battery The lithium–sulfur battery (Li–S battery) is a type of rechargeable battery. It is notable for its high specific energy. The low atomic weight of lithium and moderate atomic weight of sulfur means that Li–S batteries are relatively light (a ...

for use in the four-seat Sun Flyer 4. On August 21, 2019, Bye announced the sale of 26 aircraft to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-based air taxi operator Quantum Air. After the project was revealed as under development in June 2020, Bye Aerospace officially announced the eFlyer 800 in April 2021, to be powered by

Safran Safran S.A. is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures aircraft engines, rocket engines as well as various aerospace and defense-related equipment or their components. It was formed by a merger between SNECMA and ...

electric motors. This is planned to be an all-electric six- to nine-seat aircraft to compete with traditional fossil-fuel powered

executive aircraft Business aircraft are aircraft typically used by companies and corporations to transport people or goods related to the needs of said businesses. Most business aircraft are general aviation aircraft variants of piston or turboprop or busin ...

for the air taxi, air freight, regional airliner and aircraft charter roles. The eFlyer 800 aims to have operating costs of 20% of the

Beechcraft King Air The Beechcraft King Air is a line of American utility aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The King Air line comprises a number of twin-turboprop models that have been divided into two families. The Model 90 and 100 series developed in the 1960s ...

with a cruise speed of up to , a operating ceiling and a range of with 45-minute IFR reserves. It was announced in May 2021 that Oxis Energy had been placed into administration, with the majority of its employees made redundant. At

AirVenture EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, ...

in July 2021 George Bye of Bye Aerospace stated that the eFlyer 2 will be

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

in late 2022 or early 2023, the eFlyer 4 certified in late 2023 or early 2024 and the eFlyer 800 certified in late 2025 or early 2026.

Aircraft

Summary of aircraft built by Bye Aerospace: *

- single example of a prototype * Bye Aerospace eFlyer 2 - single example of an intended 2-seat training aircraft

References

External links

* {{Bye Aerospace aircraft Aircraft manufacturers of the United States Electric aircraft Manufacturing companies based in Colorado Privately held companies based in Colorado