16 AUGUST 2018 ÇPlane&Pilot
SIEMENS TO POWER ALL
ELECTRIC SUN FLYER 2
A Siemens SP70D motor will serve as the power source for
Bye Aerospace’s Sun Flyer 2, which seeks to use renewable
energy to deliver lower operating costs for GA liers. he
electric motor ofers a 90 kW peak rating (115 hp) and a 70
kW continuous rating (90 hp).GARMIN PILOT GETS
NEW FEATURES
Garmin Pilot 9.3 rolls out several
new updates aimed at enhancing
pilot safety and situational aware-
ness in the cockpit. Among them
is the inclusion of icing info in the
app’s light proile view, projected
storm cell pathways in the radar
overlay on the app’s moving map,
and personalized airspace alerts.EMBRAER, PIPISTREL REVEAL
EVTOL CONCEPTS
Embraer and Pipistrel introduced new lying taxi concepts
aimed at the urban transportation market during the recent
Uber Elevate Summit in Los Angeles. he two companies are
among a handful of aircraft makers that are working with
the ride sharing giant on developing four-person eVTOL
vehicles for mass transit.CESSNA BIDS
ADIEU TO TURBO
SKYHAWK JTA
A year after receiving FAA
certiication for its diesel
-powered aircraft, Cessna
has discontinued produc-
tion of the Turbo Skyhawk
JT-A. Textron says buyers
interested in the Jet-A
engine can still purchase the CD-155 power plant directly
from Continental.VSS UNITY MAKES SECOND
ROCKETPOWERED FLIGHT
he test vehicle for Virgin Galactic’s passenger spacecraft
made its second rocket-powered light in late May, reach-
ing Mach 1.9 before deploying its feathering system and
gliding back to Earth. A key component of the test was
the fact that the center of gravity was moved further aft
than in previous conigurations thanks to the inclusion of
passenger seats and equipment.CUBCRAFTERS
BOOSTS
PRODUCTION
CubCrafters is substan-
tially expanding pro-
duction in response to
heightened demand in
its product line, particu-
larly for its Carbon Cub
FX-3 and the Garmin G3X
panel for the XCub. he move comes as customer interest
has resulted in a two-year order backlog at the company.LATEST SEARCH FOR MA
COMES TO A CLOSE
A search by U.S.-based company Ocean Ininity for the
Malaysia Airlines 777 that disappeared en route from Kuala
Lumpur to Beijing in 2014 came to a close in late May after
failing to turn up any evidence of the missing airliner. he
efort, which covered 112,000 square kilometers of the
southern Indian Ocean, began in January and followed a
previous three-year failed search for the aircraft.NEW HONDAJET ELITE GOES
FARTHER WITH LESS NOISE
Honda Aircraft Company recently unveiled an upgraded
version of the HondaJet that has 17 percent more range
than its predecessor, extending its legs by nearly 250 miles.
he HondaJet Elite also features enhanced noise reduc-
tion thanks to new noise-attenuating inlet structures for
each engine.CHECK POINTS
JUST AIRCRAFT SHOWCASES
ULTRALIGHT
he company behind the Just 103 — a single-seat,
sub 254-pound aircraft designed to fall within the
FAA’s Part 103 requirements for ultralights — put
the airplane on display this spring. he bare-bones
lier, which maxes out at a top speed of 63 mph,
will be available in both kit and pre-built versions.News Of Note