Elektra Trainer Prototype Made The First Flight

On 29 June 2022, a two-seater full electric aircraft Elektra Trainer from Elektra Solar GmbH (a spin-off of the DLR Institute for Robotics and Mechatronics) took off from Memmingen International Airport in Germany for its maiden flight. The test pilot Uwe Northmann was at control.

Elektra Trainer from Elektra Solar GmbH made maiden flight at Memmingen International Airport in Germany on 29 June 2022. The test pilot was Uwe Northmann


The flight lasted about 20 minutes. Elektra Trainer took off in less than 100 meters with very little sound and no emissions. According to Uwe, the airplane has an impressive climb rate over 8 m/s. At cruising speed, Elektra Trainer consumes only around 10 kW of power.

The founder and CEO of Elektra Solar GmbH, Calin Cologan (on the right), celebrated with the test pilot Uwe Northmann (on the left)

This aircraft accumulates the company’s decades of experience in the development of solar and electric-powered aircraft. Elektra Trainer is primarily based on the proven technology of Elektra One, the single-seat electric ultralight aircraft from Elektra Solar, which was certified in the German ultralight class last year.

The flight was carried out at Memmingen Internation Airport. The quiteness of the electric motor was a sharp comparison with the jet engine


Elektra Trainer was designed for flight schools and flight clubs use. The company expects the 0perating costs to be are less than 60 EUR/hour which is about half the cost of an ultralight aircraft with a combustion engine and to justify the higher acquisition price compared with regular ultralight airplanes. In fact, the company will begin flight tests for German ultralight certification and plans to complete the UL certification process by the end of this year. The company has already started preparing for series production.

The glorious history and the bright future of aviation stand side by side

What is more interesting is that Elektra Solar GmbH puts a cloud infrastructure into operation for automatic system diagnostics and preventive maintenance (digital aircraft platform) for Elektra Trainer. The flight status data is uploaded to a cloud-based server and automatically analyzed using AI methods. The errors and deviations from the normal state are reported to the owner and/or a maintenance company. The company expects this technology and method to increase the safety of the operation and to reduce the maintenance effort.

the 1.25m wide side-by-side cockpit can accomodate pilots up to 2m tall and is ideal for flight training

Elektra Solar GmbH, founded by the electric aviation veteran Calin Gologan, plans to expand its Elektra electric aircraft family up to a 10-seat regional commuter electric aircraft with more than 500km range in 10 years.

Elektra Trainer uses a co-axial twin electric motor for redundancy and variable pitch propellor for efficiency

Some key specifications of Elektra Trainer:

  • 2.5 hours flight duration
  • 300km range
  • Dual redundant electric drive system
  • 1.25 m wide cockpit for 2 m tall pilots
  • Assembly time from transport trailer to ready to fly: approx. 30 minutes.
  • 12 kW portable charging station (in the luggage compartment)
  • Variable pitch propeller
  • Electric retractable undercarriage
  • Digital cockpit instrumentation
  • Digital aircraft platform for automatic system diagnostics and preventive maintenance
  • glide ratio over 25

More about Elektra Trainer: www.elektro-solar.com