The design was originally developed by Bye Aerospace subsidiary Aero Electric Aircraft Corporation. Arion Aircraft of Shelbyville, Tennessee constructed the proof-of-concept prototype and delivered it in March 2016. The eFlyer 2 was first publicly introduced at the Centennial Airport in Colorado on 11 May 2016. Ground and taxi tests on the prototype were started in November 2016. A four-seater derivative model, named the Bye Aerospace Sun Flyer 4, was announced in July 2017. It will be a day/night IFR aircraft with an payload, capable of maximum cruise speed and a 4.2 hour endurance. It first flew on 10 April 2018. AEAC and Bye Aerospace merged in 2018 and Bye Aerospace took over the project. Development of the four-seater should follow completion of the smaller eFlyer 2, the certification of which is forecast to cost US$25 million. Bye had received 220 orders for the two models by October 2018. By January 2019, Subaru and SBI Investment invested in Bye Aerospace to advance the eFlyer 2 certification. On 8 February the eFlyer 2 flew for the first time in its intended production configuration, including with a Siemens SP70D electric motor. FAA Part 23 Certification is planned for 2020, with Siemens taking an active part.
Design
The aircraft is intended to be certified under FAR 23 and supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft. It has been designed specifically for the flight training market and will have a 3.5 hour duration. The eFlyer 2 features a cantilever low-wing, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration enclosed open cockpit under a bubble canopy, fixed tricycle landing gear and a single Siemens SP70D electric motor in tractor configuration, powered by up to six Lithium-ion battery packs. The design has a gross weight of and is made from composite material, primarily carbon fibre. The cockpit employs an iPad used for cockpit instrumentation display, including motor, battery and aircraft systems. The aircraft connects to Redbird Flight Simulations' Sidekick system, which wirelessly tracks the Sun Flyer's engine, flight time, physical location and attitude in real time when in flight. The Siemens SP70D has a takeoff rating of, and continuous. Utah-based Electric Power Systems provides the 92-kWh energy storage including battery modules, management and distribution. The cruise aircraft has hourly operating costs one-sixth of a piston-powered Cessna 172.
