The Bye Aerospace eFlyer4, originally named the Bye Aerospace Sun Flyer 4, is an American
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, ...
under development by
Bye Aerospace
Bye Aerospace is an American aircraft manufacturer based in unincorporated Arapahoe County, Colorado. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of electric aircraft, including unmanned aircraft for geospatial role and light aircraft ...
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 ...
. The design was announced at the 2017
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, ...
airshow in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh.
History
Oshkosh was ...
. The aircraft will be
type certified
A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...
and supplied complete and ready-to-fly.
Design and development
The eFlyer 4 was developed from the smaller two-seat
Bye Aerospace eFlyer 2. It features 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 four-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; so ...
, 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 Electric machine, 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 Electromagneti ...
in
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 c ...
.
The aircraft is 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 ...
, predominantly
carbon fiber reinforced polymer
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 ...
. Its span wing has an area of and mounts
flaps. The standard engine used is a electric powerplant. The aircraft will have ten batteries giving it a four-hour endurance. The design includes a
ballistic parachute
A ballistic parachute, ballistic reserve parachute, or emergency ballistic reserve parachute, is a parachute ejected from its casing by a small explosion, much like that used in an ejection seat. The advantage of the ballistic parachute over a co ...
and has a wide cabin.
The launch customer for the design 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 also has the eFlyer 2 on order 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.
With a payload of , a cabin width of and direct operating costs of $19.8 per hour, the all-electric four-seater is pitched for
air taxi
An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand.
In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...
service around Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, and Miami.
[
Development should follow completion of the smaller eFlyer 2 two-seat trainer. Bye received 220 orders for the two models by October 2018 and at that time forecast that 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 ...
should fly in mid-2019.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 4 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 2023 or early 2024.
Orders
*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 ...
Specifications (eFlyer 4)
See also
References
External links
*
{{Bye Aerospace aircraft
Sun Flyer 4
Proposed aircraft of the United States
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Electric aircraft