The e-Go Aeroplanes e-Go, originally known as the E-Plane, is a British

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

and

light-sport aircraft A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight (aka "microlight") aircraft, but LSA restrictions on weigh ...

that was designed by Giotto Castelli, that was being developed by e-Go Aeroplanes of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and since May 2017, by GioCAS Aeronautical Consultancy, also located in Cambridge.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 42. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 44. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. The aircraft won the

Light Aircraft Association The Light Aircraft Association (LAA) is the representative body in the United Kingdom for amateur aircraft construction, and recreational and sport flying. It oversees the construction and maintenance of homebuilt aircraft, under an approval from ...

's design competition in 2007. It was first flown on 24 October 2013, with the first public flight-test and demonstration on 30 October 2013. The aircraft was initially proposed to be supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft. Production plans for the design were suspended and staff laid off in November 2016 as e-Go Aeroplanes was unable to raise capital in the wake of the British

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

vote. The aircraft program was acquired by the designer, Castelli, in May 2017, with the aim of bringing it to production.

Design and development

The aircraft was designed to comply with the United Kingdom single-seat deregulated microlight class (SSDR), as well as to comply with the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

microlight rules. The aircraft cruise speed is planned to be modified for US light-sport aircraft rules. It features a cantilever mid wing, a canard foreplane, a single-seat enclosed cockpit, fixed

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...

and a pusher engine and propeller. This follows the configuration established by the

Rutan VariViggen The Rutan VariViggen is a homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan. The aircraft is a tandem two-seater of primarily wooden construction with a delta wing and a canard foreplane. The VariViggen is powered by a 150 hp Lycoming O-320 aer ...

and

VariEze The Rutan VariEze is a composite, canard aircraft designed by Burt Rutan. It is a high-performance homebuilt aircraft, hundreds of which have been constructed. The design later evolved into the Long-EZ and other, larger cabin canard aircra ...

. The single engine is a Rotron

Wankel engine The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric (mechanism), eccentric Pistonless rotary engine, rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. The concept was proven by German engineer Felix Wankel, f ...

based on Rotron's RT300 LCR engine which is intended for drones. The aircraft is made from a combination of

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

and foam. Its span wing has an area of . The standard engine will be a

rotary engine The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration. The engine's crankshaft remained stationary in operation, while the entire crankcase and its ...

, which is expected to give a cruise speed of on per . Each wing has twin spars to provide torsional strength. The early lift-off canopy (which needed outsiders to help the pilot vacate the cockpit) was changed to a forward-hinged design in later models. During 2016, e-Go Aeroplanes announced that full production would not proceed without further financial input, "an investment memorandum for a third round of funding was issued and distributed in July this year ... shareholder interest generated was insufficient, coupled with the unsure financial market following Brexit. The Board made the very difficult decision to make all staff positions redundant." In November 2016, e-Go Aeroplanes's operation was mothballed, and "overseen by Chief Operating Officer, Richard Clabon and the General Manager David Boughey". The company website stated that it was still looking for a buyer. but the company went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

in the spring of 2017. In May 2017 the assets of e-Go Aeroplanes were acquired by the aircraft's designer, Giotto Castelli, indicating that he would pursue production under his company, GioCAS Aeronautical Consultancy.

Specifications (e-Go)

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://giocas.eu/
Previous official websiteOfficial first flight video
2010s British ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Light-sport aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Wankel-engined aircraft Canard aircraft Aircraft first flown in 2013