On 29 June 2022, a two-seater full electric aircraft Elektra Trainer from Elektra Solar GmbH (a spin-off of the DLR Institute for Robotics and Mechatronics) took off from Memmingen International Airport in Germany for its maiden flight. The test pilot Uwe Northmann was at control.
The flight lasted about 20 minutes. Elektra Trainer took off in less than 100 meters with very little sound and no emissions. According to Uwe, the airplane has an impressive climb rate over 8 m/s. At cruising speed, Elektra Trainer consumes only around 10 kW of power.
This aircraft accumulates the company’s decades of experience in the development of solar and electric-powered aircraft. Elektra Trainer is primarily based on the proven technology of Elektra One, the single-seat electric ultralight aircraft from Elektra Solar, which was certified in the German ultralight class last year.
Elektra Trainer was designed for flight schools and flight clubs use. The company expects the 0perating costs to be are less than 60 EUR/hour which is about half the cost of an ultralight aircraft with a combustion engine and to justify the higher acquisition price compared with regular ultralight airplanes. In fact, the company will begin flight tests for German ultralight certification and plans to complete the UL certification process by the end of this year. The company has already started preparing for series production.
What is more interesting is that Elektra Solar GmbH puts a cloud infrastructure into operation for automatic system diagnostics and preventive maintenance (digital aircraft platform) for Elektra Trainer. The flight status data is uploaded to a cloud-based server and automatically analyzed using AI methods. The errors and deviations from the normal state are reported to the owner and/or a maintenance company. The company expects this technology and method to increase the safety of the operation and to reduce the maintenance effort.
Elektra Solar GmbH, founded by the electric aviation veteran Calin Gologan, plans to expand its Elektra electric aircraft family up to a 10-seat regional commuter electric aircraft with more than 500km range in 10 years.
Some key specifications of Elektra Trainer:
- 2.5 hours flight duration
- 300km range
- Dual redundant electric drive system
- 1.25 m wide cockpit for 2 m tall pilots
- Assembly time from transport trailer to ready to fly: approx. 30 minutes.
- 12 kW portable charging station (in the luggage compartment)
- Variable pitch propeller
- Electric retractable undercarriage
- Digital cockpit instrumentation
- Digital aircraft platform for automatic system diagnostics and preventive maintenance
- glide ratio over 25
More about Elektra Trainer: www.elektro-solar.com