Bye Aerospace Unveils New All-Electric Twin-Turboprop Aircraft

Bye Aerospace, Inc., is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Colorado. The company designs and manufactures electric aircraft, both unmanned aircraft for geospatial roles and aircraft for flight training.

Bye Aerospace was founded by George Bye in 2007, who is also the current CEO of the company. Recently, the company unveiled its new, 8-seater, all-electric, twin-turboprop aircraft, the eFlyer 800. 

 

Image used courtesy of Bye Aerospace

 

The e-Aircraft Market

Since 2015, the electric aircraft (e-aircraft) market has been growing with company’s pushing to invest in cleaner and more fuel-efficient air travel. Ten of the world’s leading electric aviation start-ups have raised over $1.2 billion. A majority of these funds were raised within the last year. In 2020, air mobility companies raised $1.3 billion in private investment. The investment total rose by 80% since the pre-COVID year of 2019. The e-aircraft market is growing. Companies across the globe are competing to get their innovative aviation technologies certified and off the ground.

This year, Rolls Royce announced that it had completed the taxiing of its “Spirit of Innovation'' aircraft. Developed under the ACEL (Accelerating the Electrification of Flight)  technology research program, the company aims to make this aircraft the fastest all-electric aircraft in the world. A collaboration between U.S. electric propulsion specialist MagniX and UK-based Faradair Aerospace is set to bring the world an 18-seat Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft (BEHA) by 2026. Gothenburg-based Heart Aerospace aims to deliver the first ES-19 electric airliner certified for commercial flight by the same year. These are just some of the companies pushing for electrified airborne travel, and Bye Aerospace, is another pioneer seeking to make a difference.

 

The eFlyer 800

The eFlyer 800 is expected to reach a cruise speed of up to 320 knots and an altitude of 35,000 feet. It has a 500 nautical mile (nm) range/1,540 lbs and has a normal cruise speed of 280 knots. The aircraft has been designed with double the aerodynamic efficiency seen in typical legacy turboprop aircraft of the same dimensions. In terms of safety, the eFlyer 800 features two-wing mounted electric motors that are both equipped with dual redundant motor windings and quad-redundant battery packs. Another safety feature of the aircraft is the presence of a full airplane parachute. Other potential features of the aircraft include 

In a recent news release, Bye commented: “The eFlyer 800 is the first all-electric propulsion technology airplane that achieves twin-turboprop performance and safety with no CO2 and extremely low operating costs.” Bye added: “This type of remarkable economy and performance is made possible by the electric propulsion system and advanced battery cell technology that results in significantly higher energy densities.” 

 

CEO of Bye Aerospace, George Bye. Image used courtesy of Bye Aerospace

 

Both Bye Aerospace and Safran will be working outfitting the eFlyer 800 with an electric powertrain. Lithium-sulfur batteries will be used in the aircraft according to Bye Aerospace. 

In the same new release, Executive Vice President and General Manager Power at Safran Electrical & Power, Hervé Blanc, said: “Safran product lines with the ENGINeUS motors, rated from 50kW to 500kW/1MW and GENeUSGRID systems, perfectly fit with the Bye Aerospace portfolio of e-aircraft.” Blanc added: “Building upon our successful cooperation on eFlyer2 and eFlyer4, we are very proud to bring our best expertise to support Bye Aerospace in the design of the new eFlyer 800.” 

With eFlyer aircraft from Bye Aerospace, customers can expect to see a five-fold reduction in operating costs, a decrease in noise pollution, and zero CO2 emissions. Bye Aerospace believes that its technology may be able to eliminate the emission of millions of metric tonnes of CO2 and improve air quality and reduce environmental damage.