Pipistrel Velis Electro

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The Pipistrel Velis Electro is a Slovenian electric trainer aircraft built by Pipistrel in Ajdovščina. It was the first electric plane to be fully certified by the European Union aviation safety authorities for training use, receiving EASA certification in June 2020. It’s mainly designed for flight schools to practice multiple take-offs and landings at the same airfield.

Based on the Pipistrel Virus airframe, the Velis Electro is a high-wing plane with two seats side by side inside an enclosed cabin (doors for access), a fixed tricycle gear, and a single electric motor at the nose. The airframe is mostly made of composites. The wingspan is about 10.7 meters, with a wing area of 9.5 square meters.

Power comes from a Pipistrel E-811 electric motor. It can deliver about 57.6 kW for take-off (for up to 90 seconds) and 49.2 kW for continuous flight. The motor runs on a 345-volt, 20 kWh battery pack made of two 70-kg lithium batteries, mounted at the nose and behind the cabin for balance. The batteries are liquid-cooled, not swappable, and take about 2 hours to recharge from 30% to full. The Velis Electro can fly around 50 minutes, plus about 10 minutes of reserve near an airfield. Take-off is not allowed below 50% battery charge, and the plane has a battery health monitor.

The Velis Electro has a maximum noise level of about 60 dB, an empty weight of 428 kg, and a maximum take-off weight of 600 kg, giving a useful load of 172 kg. It received its EU type certificate for day VFR on June 10, 2020, and is designated by authorities as Virus SW 128 (Velis Electro). Production began, with Pipistrel aiming to deliver several aircraft in 2020; the first delivery occurred July 16, 2020 to Switzerland.

Since then, orders followed: in 2021 France’s Green Aerolease ordered 50 Velis Electro aircraft to be leased to flight schools, and a similar deal for 50 more was announced by Green Airside in the United Kingdom. In late 2020 Swiss enthusiasts conducted a series of flights attempting world records for energy use and speed with the Velis Electro. The aircraft has won several awards, including Plane & Pilot’s 2020 Plane of the Year, the 2021 AIAA Aircraft Design Award, and a 2021 Aviation Week Laureate Award in Business Aviation.