Bye Aerospace has secured a purchase agreement from US start-up air taxi operator Quantum Air for 22 four-seat eFlyer 4 electric aircraft, as well as two examples of its two-seat eFlyer 2. Quantum will also acquire two of its “future advanced aircraft”, details of which have not yet been released.

“The future has arrived,” says Quantum’s vice-president and chief pilot, Scott Akina. “By electrifying aviation, Quantum will ignite urban and regional mobility. Electric aircraft are safer, quieter, and more efficient than legacy aircraft – and they are more fun, more comfortable, and do not pollute.”

Bye Aerospace

Bye has secured over 600 commitments to date for the eFlyer pair – the first of a family of European and US CS/Part 23-certified all-electric aircraft targeted at the air taxi, owner-flyer and training segments. The eFlyer 2 will be first to market. Launched in May 2016, the all-composite type made its maiden sortie two years later, and flight testing continues at Bye’s Denver, Colorado-headquarters. Certification and service entry are scheduled for 2021.

The eFlyer2 is powered by a 120shp (90kW) Siemens SP70D electric motor, delivering speeds of over 135kt (250 km/h) and an endurance of 3h 30min.

Bye recently teamed with the UK’s Oxis Energy to develop a high energy-density battery that could power the eFlyer 4 and future larger models.

Source: Flight International