Airliners may not be battery powered, but the aircraft that trains the next generation of pilots may very well be. George Bye of Bye Aerospace is banking on it. Early estimates suggest that operating an electric trainer would cost 20% of the operating costs of a Cessna 172 trainer. Bye estimates that $3.00 worth of battery charge will fly his two-seat eFlyer as long as $50 worth of avgas.
With a prototype aircraft now flying, Bye projects he is less than two years away from certification of eFlyer 2. Bye also claims that the eFlyer 2 is not just an incremental improvement over conventional gas-power trainers, “It is disruptive.” He also remarked, “We’re innovating for a purpose.”
An efficient electrically powered aircraft would not only save on fuel costs but would likely be notably less costly to maintain. If these figures hold up, beginning flight students could see electric aircraft rental prices reduced by 30% or more compared to gasoline fueled trainers.