First Electric Airplane Completely Designed And Built In Hungary

The all-electric airplane Magnus eFusion has made its maiden flight at the Matkópuszta airfield in Kecskemet, Hungary on April 11. The eFusion of Magnus Aircraft Corp. is a two seat side-by-side low-wing monoplane with non-retractable tricycle landing gear.

The empty weight of 410 kg (approx. 926 pounds) includes the batteries and the ballistic recovery system. The aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 600 kg (approx. 1322 pounds).

Siemens designed a safe and robust battery system for aviation use and optimized the electric propulsion system for application in the cost-sensitive segments of Very Light, Light Sport and Ultra Light Aircraft.

"The maiden flight of the eFusion is another important milestone in electric aviation," said Frank Anton, head of eAircraft at Siemens. "The aircraft will serve as a flying test bed for our further battery system optimization.”

The project features a significant value-add from the Hungarian subsidiary of Siemens, with the team in Budapest having contributed to developing a fully electric drive system for the aircraft in close cooperation with the German colleagues at Siemens’ headquarters.

The electric aircraft has the potential to be used for pilot training as well. “Magnus gave the eFusion aerobatic capability, so it can serve for upset recovery training for airliner pilots," said Imre Katona, CEO of Magnus Aircraft Corp.

Demand for this training exists worldwide and is usually served by high-power two-seater aircraft at high operation cost. The eFusion will make upset recovery training environmentally friendly and at low operational cost.

(Images provided with Siemens news release)

FMI: http://magnusaircraft.com/efusion