The Siemens-FlyEco Magnus eFusion is a German

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

- electric aircraft that was designed by Siemens and FlyEco, introduced at the

AERO Friedrichshafen AERO Friedrichshafen is a trade show dedicated to European general aviation. It is held yearly in April on the shores of Lake Constance at the exhibition center of Friedrichshafen, Germany right next to Friedrichshafen Airport Friedrichshaf ...

show in 2018. The aircraft is intended for series production as a ready-to-fly design. The design was first flown on 11 April 2018 in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

. On 31 May 2018, the prototype crashed in Hungary, while on a training flight, killing its two occupants.

Design and development

The aircraft featured 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 two-seat

side-by-side configuration Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

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 ...

, and a single engine 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 co ...

. The aircraft was made from composites. The power train consisted of a Siemens SP55D

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 ...

which was intended to be powered by batteries for take-off and landing. A FlyEco three-cylinder diesel engine, derived from a

Smart Car Smart (stylized as smart) is a German automotive marque. Smart Automobile Co., Ltd. is a joint venture established by Mercedes-Benz AG and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 2019 and aimed at producing Smart-badged cars in China to be marketed gl ...

engine, with common rail injection and electronic controls, was intended to recharge the batteries in flight for extended range.

Accidents and incidents

The prototype crashed in Hungary on 31 May 2018 killing both occupants. The aircraft was on a training flight at the time. The accident investigation concluded that the crash was most likely due to pilot error in causing a high bank-angle stall close to the ground.

Specifications (Magnus eFusion)

References

{{reflist Siemens aircraft FlyEco aircraft 2010s German sport aircraft 2010s German ultralight aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Electric aircraft Aircraft first flown in 2018

Design and development

Accidents and incidents

Specifications (Magnus eFusion)

See also

References