Bye Aerospace’s eFlyer 2 Demonstrator Begins Next Phase of Flight Tests

Bye Aerospace has begun the next phase of its flight test program for its two-seat all-electric eFlyer 2. The latest aircraft built is a technology demonstrator aircraft that will pave the way for the future of electric flight, and the final version eFlyer 2.

Bye Aerospace’s two-seater eFlyer 2 technology demonstrator.

Bye Aerospace’s mission is to develop innovative and effective zero CO2 electric propulsion systems, along with integrations of structural and mechanical systems and aerodynamic advances. With electric aircraft like the eFlyer 2 moving towards production, the future of electric flight slowly is becoming more clear. This next stage of testing for the eFlyer 2 focuses on identifying an efficient and effective propellor for the eFlyer’s all-electric flight, setting the stage for the propellor dynamics of electric aircraft of all kinds, including eventual all-electric eVTOLs. It’s likely that industry discoveries and innovations being made in these traditional fixed wing electric aircraft (like the eFlyer 2, the magniX Cessna Grand Caravan, and the Ampaire EEL Electric Aircraft) will eventually make their way into all kinds of aerial mobility aircraft, including vertical-lift electric aircraft and more. For now, Bye Aerospace hopes that the eFlyer 2 will dramatically reduce operations costs and eliminate C02 emissions within the pilot flight training industry.

The eFlyer 2 in-flight

Said George E. Bye, CEO of Bye: ““Data from these flight tests will help our engineering team determine the most efficient propeller that will maximize the overall efficiency for the typical flight training syllabus requirement. The prototype Rolls Royce electric motor currently on the eFlyer 2 technology demonstrator has varying torque and a large RPM range with a relatively small size and cross-section compared to a conventional internal combustion engine.  Therefore, more of the propeller length is available to provide thrust across a broad range of RPM.” Mr. Bye concluded by mentioning that multiple iterations of the propellor will be tested over the summer against beneficial and unique electric propulsion criteria required for flight training missions.

Watch a full video summary of Bye’s mission below:

Why it’s important: Bye Aerospace is one of the world’s top companies pushing forward the electric propulsion and flight industry. With advancements made by Bye and similar electric aerospace companies, overall contributions to eVTOL aircraft such as batteries, aerodynamics, and propulsion technologies will be vast.