Bit of A Letdown? USAF Begins Testing Pipistrel Velis Electros | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Fri, May 03, 2024

Bit of A Letdown? USAF Begins Testing Pipistrel Velis Electros

Evaluations Aim to Build Experience in Battery Flight for AFWERX Program

The 96th Test Wing of the US Air Force published a handful of shots illustrating its test flights of their new battery-powered Pipistrel Felix Electro, showing two fatigued airmen squished into the 2-seat LSA.

The program sees about 20 volunteers put the aircraft through its paces at Eglin AFB, in town for a 3-week tour. Those involved are taking plenty of notes and observations about what works for the aircraft, helping to build a base of knowledge for the AFWERX program, among others.

The test campaign seems a little fun and unfocused, even, without any particular tender in mind or cutting-edge tech to assess. 

Instead, the Air Force seems happy to make use of a new product on the market to get a feel for where the industry is, and the Velis happens to be a pretty handy and accessible entry point into the world of electric flight.

 Those seeing a camouflaged airman squeezed into an LSA may immediately think that it's all a tryout for future trainers in the service, but the Air Force has happily pawned that off to contractors and schools where possible - it's not likely the Velis will be the next-gen Mescalero or Texan by any means. 

"Eglin offers a unique blend of airspace, test pilots, charging infrastructure, and prior electric aircraft experience that swayed a QE deployment to the Florida panhandle," said Lieutenant Colonel John Tekell, AFWERX's Agility Prime lead. There wasn't much more to add, according to the USAF, aside from a few more glossy jpegs showing some folks from the service having a grand old time in the springtime Florida sunshine. Sometimes, it's all right just to let people have some fun on the clock.

FMI: www.af.mil

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Aviat A1

Airplane Bounced About 3 Ft Then Touched Back Down And Then, With No Brakes Applied, The Airplane Began Veering To The Left Analysis: The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.08.25)

Aero Linx: British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) The primary focus within all aviation activity is SAFETY. In all aspects of our sport SAFETY must come first, whether it b>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Fly Corvair’s Reliable Engine Alternative

From SnF25 (YouTube Edition): William Wynne Builds Practical Aircraft Engines on the Corvair Platform Seeking an affordable alternative to the traditional aircraft engine options, >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: CiES Fuel-Quantity and e-Throttle Systems Praised

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Bridge of CiES CiES Inc. is a Bend, Oregon-based designer and manufacturer of modular embedded aircraft systems and sensors. The company’s fuel-l>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC