Production work begins on building Bye Aerospace’s all-electric eFlyer 2 aircraft
Bye Aerospace has confirmed that production has now started on Serial #001 of its two-seat all-electric eFlyer 2 aircraft, with the company also in the process of obtaining FAA Part-23 certification for professional flight training missions.
George E. Bye, CEO of Bye Aerospace, has said the company has contracted Composites Universal Group (CUG) to begin assembly of the production eFlyer 2 fuselage, the first major component being assembled.
This agreement follows on from the agreement Bye Aerospace signed with Safran Engine and Power, which will equip its eFlyer 2 and eFlyer 4 aircraft with Safran’s ENGINeUSTM 100 electric smart motor. Additionally, Aviation Safety Resources will supply whole aircraft recovery parachutes systems for the e‑Flyer2.
Commenting on the agreement with CUG, Bye said: “We continue to make advances in the certification process. “These activities commence production of the first conforming eFlyer 2, the first of three planned conforming eFlyer 2 aircraft that will be used to help complete final FAA certification. We look forward to working with Steve Ruege and the team at CUG.”
Steve Ruege, CEO of CUG, added: “Composites Universal Group is extremely proud to have been selected by George and the team at Bye Aerospace to begin tooling and construction for the all-carbon fiber fuselage for Serial #001 of the eFlyer 2 aircraft.
“We all feel here at CUG that Bye Aerospace has absolutely hit a home run with this next-generation all-electric aircraft design. We are very excited about working collaboratively with the Bye Aerospace team to achieve FAA certification and commencing production.”
Bye Aerospace is FAA-certifying the two-seat, all-electric eFlyer 2 for the professional flight training mission, while the four-seat eFlyer 4 will be for air taxi and advanced training uses.
The company’s eFlyer2 demonstrator entered the next stage of flight testing last year, which focused on collecting flight envelope engineering data for the three propellers being considered for the FAA-certified production version.
QuantumXYZ signed a purchase deposit agreement for 22 four-seat eFlyers and two two-seat eFlyers in August 2019, which are labelled under the eCTOL (electric conventional takeoff and landing) category. They will be used to link passengers travelling between LAX and other airports in the city.
Benefits of the eFlyer family of aircraft include five-fold lower operating costs, no CO2 emissions, and decreased noise. Bye Aerospace added that it estimates the eFlyer will eventually eliminate the release of millions of metric tons of CO2 each year as deliveries begin and the general aviation fleet is replaced.