Elektra Solar successfully completes test flight

The Elektra Trainer was in the air over Memmingen for twenty minutes. The results of the test flight are better than the developers expected.

On Wednesday, the Elektra Trainer aircraft from Elektra Solar took off on its first flight. Test pilot Uwe Nortmann spent twenty minutes in the air before landing the electrically powered microlight aircraft back at Memmingen airport.

The test flight was a success: the aircraft took less than a hundred meters to take off and caused no CO2 emissions in the process. At a flying speed of over 8 meters per second, the aircraft consumed around 10 kilowatts of energy. The Elektra Trainer can stay in the air for a total of 2.5 hours, covering around 300 kilometers. This makes the two-seater particularly suitable for flying schools and flying clubs. According to the company, the operating costs are less than 60 euros per hour - which is less than for classic ultralight aircraft. The aircraft is also equipped with a cloud infrastructure that collects data during the flight. An algorithm then evaluates this data. This is intended to increase flight safety.

Elektra Solar now wants to undertake further test flights and is aiming to have the aircraft certified by the end of the year. The spin-off from the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics at the German Aerospace Center has already prepared for series production and is planning to enter the European market in the next few years. Elektra Solar also wants to develop a ten-seater with a range of more than 500 kilometers.