Single-Place Float Plane In Development In Finland

The FlyNano electric prototype airplane made its first flight last week. The single-place open-cockpit floatplane concept was unveiled at the Aero 2011 trade fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany. It was envisioned to be primarily powered with an internal combustion engine, but with advances in the development of electric motors and batteries during the past year, the company says that production version of the sport flyer will primarily be equipped with electric powerplants.

On its blog, FlyNano says that the new engine, propeller, controller and batteries form a package that is substantially stronger than the earlier model. They say that they were unable to get sufficient speed from the reciprocating engine to achieve takeoff speeds during high-speed taxi tests, but that the electric drivetrain overcomes that issue.

FlyNano's goal is to start the production within the following year and to deliver the first 35 planes – already sold in advance – by the end of 2013. The international patent is currently pending to protect the configuration.

From the video presented on the blog, this personal sport aircraft, which has room for only one person ... "no passengers, no cargo" according to its website... looks like it would be a whole lot of fun to fly. (Image from FlyNano YouTube video)

FMI: www.flynano.com