Check out my latest YouTube video interview with George Bye that includes a number of images and video clips supplied by Bye Aerospace. George has been on a 12-year quest to make electric aircraft a reality. I became convinced that electric aircraft are our future after I first talked with George in 2010 and later saw an experimental electric Lazair ultralight fly at AirVenture in 2011. While electric aircraft seemed like a pipe dream in 2010, most analysts now agree they will enter the market soon.
Last week, I interviewed George Bye to ask him two questions: 1) Why will pilots want to fly an electric airplane, and 2) When will it happen? In addition to posting that interview as a podcast, I also created a YouTube version that shows us during the interview and includes video of the Bye Aerospace eFlyer 2 flying. That's the version I recommend you view, and you can see it here. And while you're at it, please Subscribe to my YouTube channel now, so you'll be notified when I upload new videos in the future.
George says that their first model, the eFlyer 2, will begin shipping in two years. It's a two-seat aircraft designed to be a trainer. The company currently has a total backlog of 360 orders for the eFlyer 2 and eFlyer 4, which is a four seat version. George says the eFlyer 2 will have an endurance of 3 hours, and the eFlyer 4 will fly for five hours before the batteries need recharging.
One huge benefit is a vastly lower operating cost. George estimates the direct cost of operating an eFlyer 2 at $3-4/hour, versus about $50/hour for the Cessna 152 it's designed to replace. Watch the YouTube video now to learn about the many other advantages of electric aircraft.
This is an exciting time for electric and hybrid-electric aircraft, with announcements coming out every week. For example, earlier today Ampaire began teasing an announcement planned for tomorrow about their various electric aircraft models. Stay tuned for many more announcements about electric aircraft!
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