New Manufacturer of Electric
Aircraft
By Dan Johnson, June 27, 2013
GreenWing will start manufacturing with eSpyder, shown here
during flight tria ls
in California.
Once upon a time the light aircraft industry announced new
manufacturers and models at the rate of two, three, or even
more every month ... for several years. As with every
maturing industry before, this torrid pace had to slow.
Yet the party isn't over, far from it. Contrarily, I am
aware of several new projects in the works and we all know
of some (Icon, Terrafugia, Lisa among others) where
companies have been working on their designs for some years
but they have yet to secure FAA approval as a Light-Sport
Aircraft. Neither has GreenWing International, a new company
announced this week though that may change quickly enough.
"Yuneec International, a world leader in electric power
systems, is proud to announce the formation of GreenWing
International, [which is] entirely focused on bringing the
revolution of electric power to the global general aviation
market," announced company CEO Tian Yu.
Enthusiasts following electric powered aircraft development
first saw Yuneec's e430 at AirVenture 2009. The Jiangsu-based
compa ny (just north of Shanghai) is very big in
electric-powered radio controlled aircraft; their
gyro-stabilized RC helicopters have sold in large numbers. Yuneec will continue to focus on developing technologies for
electric motors and power systems, but GreenWing said it
will handle production of the eSpyder and e430 electric
aircraft.
Since the first flights of its electric powered
planes in 2009, Yuneec has been advancing its electric
propulsion technologies, and all GreenWing aircraft will be
powered by Yuneec electric propulsion systems.
Since it showed the e430 four years ago, Yuneec acquired the
design rights to the former Flightstar aircraft and has
focused energy on the eSpyder, a pure electric light single
seater. One and two seat varieties of Flightstar aircraft
number about 1,000 aircraft and were sold all over the
world.
As GreenWing gears up to begin manufacturing the eSpyder its
first major showing is this year's AirVenture Oshkosh.
GreenWing said it will be bringing several eSpyder aircraft
to AirVenture 2013 for ground and flight display. Both the
single seat eSpyder and the two-seat e430 airplanes are
nearing completion for initial production runs after
undergoing extensive development and flight testing during
the past year.
 GreenWing
International can be found in spaces 406 & 417 at Oshkosh
where the new company will provide additional news about
their line of electric powered aircraft. A satellite booth
in the Ultralight Area of AirVenture will be used for daily
flying demonstrations of the eSpyder.
"This week we continue to fly the eSpyders as the last
details are completed to get the most efficiency out of
these remarkable planes," wrote Eric Bartsch, an American
assisting the Shanghai company.
When operating electric aircraft, new instruments are
needed; Yuneec has developed software to aid pilots.
"Recently we have had flights of more than an hour during
our test program in California.
I was flying one of the planes this morning and it is
remarkable how quiet the powerplant is, and how different it
is to hear all of the sounds from the cars, trucks, and
equipment on the ground as you fly silently overhead." Eric
related that recently his team on the ground was able to
hear one of their test pilots talking in the cockpit as he
flew past us after taking off. "The quietness, efficiency,
and eco-friendly benefits of electric aviation are becoming
a reality and we are proud to be part of the revolution with
the eSpyder," he finished.
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