Stratos Aircraft has returned to EAA AirVenture with its in-development 716X in tow, as flight testing of the single-engine very light jet (VLJ) kitplane nears completion. The lastest version of the jet made its first flight on July 2, 2020, and has since logged 150 hours.
“We expect to wrap up testing for the amateur-built jet in another 50 hours and start delivering aircraft parts to our first customers at the end of the year,” said Stratos president and CEO Carsten Sundin. N716X has flown “repeatedly” to 41,000 feet in May, Sundin noted.
Since then, the VLJ has completed flight envelope expansion, flutter testing, and RVSM precision altitude holding tests, he added. The test aircraft has also reached a speed of 380 knots “and verified that the aircraft is free of Mach buffet in wind-up turns at the highest cruise altitudes,” he said.
Redbird Flight has been testing a prototype of its desktop Redbird TD basic aviation training device (BATD) fitted with a mixed-reality headset driven by software that gives users a more realistic and immersive flying experience. Many companies are developing mixed-reality systems, but Redbird’s promises to cost in the tens of thousands of dollars versus hundreds of thousands for systems from traditional simulator manufacturers.
On display at the Redbird exhibit this week at the EAA AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the Redbird setup consists of a desktop BATD, a Varjo mixed-reality headset, and an image-generation system developed by Quantum 3D. Redbird is encouraging visitors to its exhibit to try the mixed-reality simulator.
The Ampaire hybrid-electric EEL demonstrator aircraft completed a 1,633-nm mission from Camarillo, California, to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on July 22. The EEL is on display at EAA AirVenture’s Boeing Plaza. The trip included the longest nonstop flight ever made by a hybrid-electric aircraft—986 nm.
Ampaire test pilot Elliot Seguin took off from Camarillo Airport on July 20 to reposition to Mojave Airport in order to avoid the potential for early morning fog the next day. On July 21, he flew 986 nm from Mojave to Hays, Kansas. On July 22, he completed the trip, flying 574 nm to Oshkosh’s Wittman Regional Airport.
Lancaster, California-based Hydroplane is showing its modular 200-kW hydrogen fuel cell powerplant for the experimental aircraft, general aviation, and urban air mobility markets at EAA AirVenture.
The company said that it is conducting a “pre-launch” at the show, allowing interested parties to sign up for a no-obligation waitlist to enable them to have the opportunity to purchase the powerplant when it becomes available. Hydroplane said it is on track to fly its demonstrator aircraft—a Piper PA-28-180—powered by the fuel cell in 2023.
Tecnam’s P2010 Gran Lusso is on display at EAA AirVenture 2022. The high wing, single-engine piston, four-seater features a luxury interior with electrically-adjustable seats, Italian leather upholstery, carbon-fiber insets, and an all-new center power quadrant.
Other Gran Lusso features include a new parking brake that is easier to manipulate, two mobile phone holders, improved USB ports, new wingtips with integrated LED lights, metallic paint options, and new “super premium” interiors.
Avionics are a Garmin G1000 NXi avionics suite that includes the GFC 707 autopilot with Garmin electronic stability and protection and GCU 475 FMS keyboard.
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