Photo by Brett Brock Tom Poberezny welcomes Clive Coote and Yu Tian of Yuneec to EAA AirVenture 2009. Yuneec International's two-place electric LSA is slated to enter production in late 2010 at a price of $89,000.

July 28, 2009 - Oshkosh, Wisconsin - The China/UK collaborative firm Yuneec International presented its new e430 two-place electric-powered LSA at a press conference in AeroShell Square on Tuesday morning. The all-composite airplane features a 45-foot glider-like wing (complete with airbrakes), a V-tail, and a 40-kilowatt (54-hp) electric motor. It's also equipped with a whole-plane emergency parachute.

Power comes from a purchaser's choice of either three or five nominal 130-volt 30-AH lithium/polymer battery packs. With three packs, flight endurance is estimated at 90 minutes to two hours; with five, depending on flight technique and power setting, up to three hours.

According to Yuneec co-chief Clive Coote, the project was conceived as an outgrowth of the explosive growth of electric-powered RC models: over the last ten years, model aviation has changed from 90 percent gas powered to 80 percent electric powered, with a fourfold quadrupling of the electric market over the last five years. The Chinese arm of Yuneec includes a company that's already the world leader in ready-to-fly electric models, with hundreds of thousands of motors, battery packs, and electronic controllers. Development of what was originally to be an electric ultralight commenced in 2006, with full-size RC prototypes ballasted to 450 pounds to represent a human pilot. By 2008, the decision was made to change to the LSA market. Some 20 engineers worked almost around the clock to build the prototype in just four months. After a single 30-minute test flight, it was shipped to California, where test pilot Dave Morss flew 22 hours before the airplane was brought to Oshkosh. It will fly as many times as possible during AirVenture.

Visitors can see the e430 at booth 421-421.