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 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 ...

by Bye Aerospace's Aero Electric Aircraft Corporation division of

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, United States, introduced in 2015. The company had a license agreement and engineering contract for the design with Calin Gologan, the Elektra One's designer.

Design and development

The aircraft features

composite construction Composite construction is a generic term to describe any building construction involving multiple dissimilar materials. Composite construction is often used in building aircraft, watercraft, and building construction. There are several reasons to ...

, a cantilever

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 ...

, a single-seat, enclosed cockpit under a

bubble canopy A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility. The designs of bubble canopies can drastically vary; s ...

, fixed

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

with

wheel pants An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...

and a single

electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate for ...

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...

. The Sun Flyer differed from the PC-Aero Elektra One by incorporating new landing gear, propeller and instruments. It provided a prototype for a proposed two-seater that was to have four Panasonic

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 se ...

batteries, along with solar panels installed on the wings, horizontal tail and on the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...

behind the canopy. This two-seater was intended to be certified for day and night

Visual Flight Rules In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better ...

. The proposed two-seat version of the Sun Flyer eventually led to a new design, the

Bye Aerospace Sun Flyer 2 The Bye Aerospace eFlyer 2 (formerly the Sun Flyer 2) is a light electric aircraft designed and under development by Bye Aerospace of Denver, Colorado. The aircraft was first publicly introduced on 11 May 2016, and first flew on 10 April 2018 ...

instead. 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 an ...

had reserved the first 20 two-seat models that were to be produced.

Specifications (Sun Flyer)

References

External links

{{Bye Aerospace aircraft Sun Flyer 2010s United States sport aircraft 2010s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Electric aircraft

Design and development

Specifications (Sun Flyer)

See also

References

External links