French Company Looks For A Piece Of The Light Aircraft Market

French planemaker Elixir Aircraft recently marked the first flight of the Elixir light airplane, and has released a video of the flight to the public.

The company said in a media release that the flight was conducted by test pilot Daniel Serres following three days of ground tests at La Rochelle airport.

The Elixir climbed to 5,000 feet and flew for 45 minutes. After a short break, Serres conducted a second flight to the ULM Blois airshow at the Aérodrome de Blois-le Breuil.

The Elixir is EASA certified. The company provided the following information about the aircraft on its website:

• Empty weight : 265kg (564 pounds)
• Payload : 280kg (617 pounds)
• Rate of climb : 8.1 m/s (1580 ft/min)
• Take off : 150m-300m (492-984 feet)
• Landing : 125m-425m (410-1,394 feet)
• Speed : FL0 = 153 kts

The airplane is powered by either a Rotax 915iS or 912iS)

• Fuel capacity : 110L (29 U.S. gallons)  (max 200L or 52 U.S. gallons)
• Fuel Consumption : 14L/h (3.7 gallons/hour) with the 912iS at 65% power)
• Endurance : More than 7 hours (912iS, 65%)
• Range : More than 1000 NM (912iS, 65%)

The company reports 10 pre-orders of the airplane as of August 14, 2017.

(Image from Elixir video)

FMI: elixir-aircraft.com/en/