Founded in 2015, LaRochelle France-based Elixir Aircraft has set itself the goal of designing and producing “safer, more economical, more environmentally-friendly, and more versatile aircraft.”
Elixir’s management posits the high operating costs and ostensible technical and human liabilities of legacy general aviation aircraft are attributable primarily to complexity: complexity of design, complexity of manufacture, complexity of operation, and complexity of maintenance. Ergo, Elixir’s design and production ethe are predicated upon simplicity.
The carbon airframes of Elixir aircraft are constructed via the OneShot method—a monobloc technique by which complex elements such as wings, fuselage, and control surfaces are designed and manufactured as single units devoid of complex internal structural assemblies the likes of ribs, stringers, or spars. In addition to doing away with substructures typical of conventional aircraft designs, the OneShot method eliminates orthodox mechanical joinery such as screwing, riveting, and gluing.
Elixir Aircraft’s EASA CS-23 certified Elixir single-engine, T-tail monoplane is available in two iterations: a Rotax 912 iS-powered trainer, and a Rotax 915 iS-equipped traveler model. Both machines feature spin-resistant designs comprising variable main-wing angles of incidence which ensure the aircrafts’ wing-roots stall prior to their wing-tips—thereby affording Elixir pilots aileron authority even in conditions of aerodynamic stall.
Elixir further offer buyers explosion-resistant fuel tanks; reinforced oleo-pneumatic tricycle landing gear; double-slotted electric flaps; high-performance Beringer wheels fitted with hydraulic differential disc-brakes and armored hoses; flight-data recorder; and Garmin’s GI260 Angle of Attack (AoA) indicator and Smart Glide—a system that aids pilots in loss of engine power emergencies by automating tasks to reduce pilot workload. Specifically, Smart Glide recommends suitable landing airports estimated by the aircraft’s GPS navigation system to be within engine-out glide range. Paired with avionics such as Garmin’s GTN Xi series navigators and a compatible Garmin autopilot, Smart Glide automatically engages autopilot pitch control to maintain aircraft best glide speed while simultaneously navigating the aircraft to the selected emergency airport.
In the event of catastrophic emergency, Elixir models are provisioned with Ballistic Parachute Recovery Systems (BPRS) deployable up to the aircrafts’ respective Vne speeds.
Elixir pilots will enjoy availing themselves of the aircrafts’ full glass cockpits featuring dual Garmin G3X 10.6-inch touch-screen displays; Garmin GTN 750NXi touch-screen flight navigators; Garmin G5 primary electronic attitude displays; Garmin GNC 355 touch-screen GPS/comm radios with Localizer Performance with Vertical (LPV) approach guidance; Garmin GMC 507 autopilot control heads; and streamlined cockpits for improved ergonomics, workload reduction, and quicker instrument scan.
The reduction in pilot workload afforded by Elixir’s excellent avionics is complemented by integrated tablet docks, four USB outlets, vertical and longitudinal seat adjustment, electric longitudinal rudder adjustment, and a straight-forward power-quadrant featuring short-throw, discrete-lever controls of the aircraft’s engine and three-bladed, hydraulic, variable-pitch propeller.
Elixir, which achieved EASA CS-23 certification of its aircraft in 2020, hopes to receive reciprocal FAA Part 23 certification of its models in short order.
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