Slovenian light aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel has released its Taurus Electro G2 glider to the market.
The Pipistrel Taurus Electro G2 is the second generation of the electric-powered two-seat self-launching Taurus Electro glider, and as of this week the aicraft is in serial production and available to customers worldwide.
Pipistrel says that, as an electric aircraft, the Taurus Electro G2 benefits from having an electric drive that is applied to the glider airframe, where battery capacity is not a limiting factor in performance and endurance.
The aircraft is powered by an emission-free 40kW electric power-train developed in-house that allows continuous climbing at 30kW power and is controlled by a specially developed power inverter/controller and governed by the cockpit ESYS-MAN instrument.
The aircraft uses tailor-developed Lithium-technology batteries that come in two configurations that are capable of launching the glider to 4000ft or 6500ft, respectively.
“The Taurus Electro G2 can use a shorter runway [and] climbs faster thanks to the specially-developed emission-free Pipistrel 40kW electric power-train,” the manufacturer says. “For the first time electric power outperforms its gasoline-powered counterpart – the Taurus – when it comes to high altitude operations.”
The electric motor system, which weighs only 11kgs and provides power for up to 17 minutes, can be retrofitted into existing gas-powered Taurus gliders, and it will also be offered for integration into third-party platforms. Once the airplane is gliding, the propeller retracts into the fuselage with the push of a button.
Pipistrel is packaging the Taurus Electro G2 with a solar trailer that can fully charge the aircraft in about five hours.
The Taurus Electro G2 will make its public debut at Germany’s AERO 2011 Friedrichhafen in mid-April, and Pipistrel expects to deliver more than 20 Taurus Electro G2s by year’s end.
For more information on the Taurus Electro G2 and to watch a video of it in action click here.
The Pipistrel Taurus Electro G2. (Pipistrel)
