Pipistrel's self-launching electro glider Taurus Electro won the most prestigious aviation recognition in the world – the Lindbergh award.

The reason for the award is the unique technological design of the electro glider.  According to the official description,  "the Pipistrel Taurus Electro was chosen because it has a professionally engineered “plug and play” electric power system which is available for commercial sale to other airplane makers, and because it includes a completely integrated “solar trailer” that allows the airplane to operate independently of the commercial power grid. The integration and safety features are excellent and can serve as a model for industry standards for electric aircraft."

Pipistrel CEO Ivo Boscarol received the award from the hands of Eric Lindbergh, the grandson of the legendary aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, who was the first person to fly across the Atlantic.

In his speech, Lindbergh pointed out that his grandfather changed the opinion of the people of his time, who were convinced that flying is just a dangerous hobby for mad adventurers. From that history-changing flight onwards, flying became an interest of the wider public – the passengers. With his achievement, Charles Lindbergh set the foundation for commercial flight.

According to aviation experts, Pipistrel is changing the perception of electric aviation today. People used to think that electric aircraft, while conceptually possible, were just expensive toys for environmentalist pilots, until Pipistrel introduced the Taurus
Electro, the first commercially available electric 2-seat aircraft in serial production.

By offering it at the same price and with same performance as its petrol-engine counterpart, Pipistrel started a revolution in the way of thinking about the electric aviation, making it tantamount to the petrol-powered flight.

“We are proud that our concept of Flying-for-free - the combination of Taurus Electro (an electric aircraft) with the Solar Trailer (an aircraft trailer with integrated solar panels which charge up the aircraft) has convinced the jury, won the recognition in the world of electric flight and confirmed our leading role in the field of environmental thinking in aviation! Flying for free with absolutely zero emissions is possible, and our concept has proven it”, Pipistrel comments.

Reportedly, Taurus Electro G2 is the first and the only electric 2-seat airplane in serial production available on the market. It offers complete freedom and independence thanks to the retractable electric engine, double retractable main landing gear, excellent gliding performance, inexpensive maintenance and a well-ventilated spacious cockpit.

Taurus Electro G2 is the only electric 2-seat airplane in serial production available on the market. Furthermore, Pipistrel believes it is the only truly useful electric aircraft out there, because the electric drive is applied to the glider airframe, where battery capacity is not a limiting factor in performance/endurance. Taurus Electro G2 represents a leap forward in performance, safety, functionality and user friendliness.

Based on extensive testing of the Taurus Electro prototype, the company decided not only to refine the product to serial production state, but also rather to rethink, redesign and implement completely new solutions into the initial design. The result is what Pipistrel’s Research and Development team calls  Taurus Electro »Generation 2«  - or G2 in short.

Pipistrel is presenting another world's first – the concept of “Flying For Free”. Pipistrel developed the Solar Trailer(R), which can charge-up the Taurus Electro G2 in as little as 5 hours absolutely free of charge and with zero emissions.

Additionally, when the Taurus Electro G2 is stored in the trailer during the week of bad weather, it will still be charged and ready to fly by the weekend. The Solar Trailer and Taurus Electro G2 are perfect companions and demonstrate how it is possible to fly free of charge, quietly and with absolutely zero emissions, with today's technology.

The trailer offers both the 12 V connection (to charge your aux. instruments, etc) and 110V/220V connections at front and back of the trailer, where you connect the Taurus Electro G2's charger. Also present is the solar-system by-pass, so you can charge the aircraft inside the trailer when parked in the hangar/garage, for example. The buffer battery of the trailer has the capacity of 3 kWh and its energy can be transmitted directly into the Taurus Electro G2. The SolarTrailer gathers energy also when you are flying, so you charge the Taurus Electro G2 also during the night with the energy that has accumulated during the day!

Interestingly, for the first time electric power outperforms its gasoline-powered counterpart – the Taurus. Taurus Electro G2 can use a shorter runway, climbs faster and is performs much better than the gasoline-powered version when it comes to high altitude operations. All this is possible thanks to the specially developed emission-free Pipistrel's 40kW electric power train.

The tailor-developed Lithium-technology batteries come in two configurations, capable of launching the airplane to 1200 m (4000 ft) or 2000 m (6500 ft) respectively. They are placed in self-contained boxes, monitored constantly by the super precise Pipistrel's own battery management system (BMS), compete with data logging and battery health forecasting.

The incredible propulsion motor weighs an impressive 11 kg (rather than 16 kg) and generates 10 kW more power, resulting in a total of 40 kW. Due to this 33% increase in power and 40% decrease in weight we developed a whole new propeller, which has proven to be more efficient than the version flying on the Taurus Electro Prototype.

With the Taurus Electro G2 Pipistrel is introducing a World's first - a full set of on-board networked avionics providing for a fly-by-wire power-train management with built-in multi-layer protection logic. Let us tell you that this represents a great improvement over the system used in the Taurus Electro prototype, where the pilot handled everything.

The first element of this networked system is the state-of-the-art hybrid battery management system, which was developed entirely in house to be able to function with tighter tolerances than commercially available systems, yielding better performance and longer battery life.

The Battery Management system monitors the batteries, which were specially developed to be used in the Taurus Electro G2. They represent the absolute pinnacle of today's battery technology, combining low weight, high power and high energy density to levels that seemed impossible as recently as 2009. The batteries are placed in aluminum boxes with dedicated power and signal connectors. Each battery cell's performance is monitored, temperature measured and future performance predicted.

The system is able to forecast when a battery cell is mal-performing and signals the need for a premature replacement. All parameters are also logged in the on-board flight data recorder.

The second element is the power inverter/motor controller. Its location has been moved into the aircraft's fuselage, it has become more efficient and features self-protection logic against current spikes, over temperatures and other potential abnormal situations. In other words, the controller is not only driving the motor, but also providing for the low-level protection of both itself, the batteries and the motor.

The most noticeable addition to the networked system is the color-display cockpit interface instrument. The screen is really bright, in fact brighter than most displays out there, and is readable in the strongest of sunshine. It indicates the drive mode and important parameters to the pilot and provides the interface for engine retraction and extension. Everything is operated via two toggle switches and a rotating knob. The first toggle switch is the power on/off switch and does exactly that – powers up the motor controller.