20 April 2016
The all-electric aerobatic Magnus eFusion light sport aircraft is making its AERO debut – just a few days after the aircraft had its maiden flight at the Matkópuszta Airfield, Hungary.
Pictured above are (left) Dr Frank Anton of Siemens (Mr Electric Aircraft!) and Imre Katona, CEO of Magnus Aircraft Corp.
The eFusion is a two-seat side-by-side low-wing monoplane with non-retractable tricycle landing gear. The empty weight of 410kg includes the batteries and a ballistic recovery system. The aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 600kg. It’s based on the Rotax powered Fusion already available from Magnus, which itself is a development of the Hungarian Corvus Racer of a few years ago.
The electric powertrain of the eFusion was designed and supplied by German company Siemens, which is involved in many of the electric aircraft projects.
“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 optimisation.”
One of the planned uses of the eFusion is for pilot training. “Magnus gave the eFusion aerobatic capability, so it can serve for upset recovery training for airliner pilots,” says Imre Katona, CEO of Magnus Aircraft Corp.
Upset recovery training has become an additional element of commercial pilot training. “Demand for this training exists worldwide and is usually served by high-power two-seater aircraft at high operation cost,” said Katona. “The eFusion will allow performing upset recovery training environmentally friendly and at low operation cost.”
