The Pipistrel Velis Electro is a Slovenian light aircraft, designed and produced by Pipistrel of Ajdovščina. The aircraft was EASA CS-LSA fully electric type certified in June 2020 and it is intended primarily for the training aircraft role, particularly multiple successive take-off and landings at the airfield. The design is the first type certified electric aircraft and is supplied complete and ready-to-fly. The aircraft is based on the Pipistrel Virus airframe and features a cantilever high-wing, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration in an enclosed cabin accessed via doors. It has a stick shaker and fixed tricycle landing gear and a single electric motor in tractor configuration. The airframe is predominantly made from composite materials. Its 10.71 m (35.1 ft) span wing, has an area of 9.5 m2 (102 sq ft), an aspect ratio of 12.03:1, an IMD 029-b airfoil and mounts three-position flaps, with settings of 0°, 8° and 19°. The sole approved powerplant is the liquid-cooled Pipistrel E-811 electric motor, rated at 57.6 kW (77 hp) at 2500 rpm for 90 seconds for take-off and 49.2 kW (66 hp) at 2350 rpm for continuous operation. The motor was developed in conjunction with the Slovenian engineering companies Emrax and Emsiso. It is powered by a 345 VDC, 20 kWh battery pack, in two 70 kg (150 lb) each, liquid-cooled lithium batteries by Pipistrel, connected in parallel for fault tolerance. One battery is mounted in the nose and one behind the cabin for balance. They take 2 hours to recharge from 30% to 100% capacity, and allow an endurance of up to 50 minutes plus 10 minutes of VFR reserves when flying in proximity of the aerodrome. The motor radiator is mounted in the nose, which necessitates a different engine cowling from the Virus design. The battery radiator is mounted in the rear. The to the liquid cooling and the weight of the battery unit, the batteries are not swappable, unlike the battery replacement system in the Alpha Electro. The-off is not allowed when battery state of charge (SoC) is below 50%. The aircraft has a built-in continuous health-monitoring system displaying the estimated 'age' of the battery, and the battery must be charged using proprietary equipment. The E-811 is the first certified electric aircraft motor and was certified by EASA on 18 May 2020. The Velis Electro has a maximum noise level of 60 dBa. The aircraft has an empty weight of 428 kg (944 lb) and a gross weight of 600 kg (1,300 lb), giving a useful load of 172 kg (379 lb). For more details of development and operational history, click here. Note: There is an electric variant of the Pipistrel Alpha Trainer, which is covered in Recreational (3 Axis) section.
