The Pipistrel Virus is a two-seat, single engine light aircraft manufactured by

Pipistrel Pipistrel d.o.o Ajdovščina is a Slovenian Ultralight aviation, light aircraft manufacturer established in 1989Or 1989... --> by Ivo Boscarol and based in Ajdovščina. Its facilities are located in Ajdovščina, Slovenia, and near Gorizia, It ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and sold as an

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 ...

, homebuilt kit, glider, or

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 ...

.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 63. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 70. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 73. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. Introduced in 1999 and based on the design of the

Pipistrel Sinus The Pipistrel Sinus is a two-seat, single-engine ultralight motor glider, developed and manufactured by Pipistrel in Slovenia and Italy.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, pa ...

, the Virus has been produced in a number of variants with different engines, wingspans, and undercarriage configurations. It can be equipped with a full airframe emergency recovery parachute system.

Design and development

The Virus is a high-wing, cantilever monoplane of pod-and-boom configuration with a T-tail and air brakes. The cabin has two seats side-by-side. Its fixed undercarriage can be provided in either tricycle or

tailwheel Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

configuration. The aircraft is available in long wing version (12.5-metre wingspan), powered by an

Rotax 912 The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally-aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, la ...

engine, or in short wing "SW" version (10.7-metre wingspan), equipped with several options of Rotax 912 and 914 engines. The Virus SW 121 and Explorer (SW 121A) line of aircraft are rated for intentional spins. Aviation journalist Paul Bertorelli has criticized the aircraft's design for lack of cabin occupant

crashworthiness Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of aircraft and vehicles. Different criteria are used to figure out how safe a structure is in a crash, ...

. However, the manufacturer points out that this kind of issue is typical of aircraft in the LSA category. The design has no history of head trauma during the accidents that have occurred. By February 2014, Pipistrel had produced more than 600 Sinus/Virus aircraft. Production reached 1000 aircraft by March 2019. In April 2016, the Virus SW 121 received an EASA Full Type Certificate. The SW 121 is powered by a Rotax 912 S3 and is designed to meet EASA requirements for a Light Sports Aeroplane. It is the first EASA type-certified (no restrictions, category "normal") aircraft in CS-LSA category for Night VFR operations, intentional spins and glider-towing. It features an

autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of a vehicle without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator's control of the vehicle, allow ...

, dual redundant ADAHRS units, and airbrakes. In January 2022, Pipistel announced a new variant of the SW 121, commercially referred to as Explorer. The new variant, also EASA CS-LSA type-certified, features new Garmin G3X Touch touch-screen avionics and a haptic stall warning system, among other equipment.

Operational history

The Pipistrel Virus flew for the first time on August 10, 1999. Production began on January 20, 2000. The development of the short wing version started in 2007. The Virus SW production started in 2008. The Virus won the NASA 2007 Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) Challenge and the 2008 General Aviation Technology (GAT) Challenge. On 8 January 2012, Slovenian pilot

Matevž Lenarčič Matevž Lenarčič is an extreme light aircraft pilot from Slovenia. He is also an alpinist, paraglider, environmentalist, and a photographer. He has climbed all over the world and among others reached the top of 8051m Broad Peak in Himalaya a ...

launched an around-the-world flight attempt from

in a turbocharged Virus SW914, sponsored as the GreenLight World Flight. As part of his flight, he flew past

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

at an altitude of , some above the peak's height; this portion of the journey was not authorized, as

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

had cancelled his permit to make the flight right before he took off. He completed the flight on 19 April 2012, returning to Slovenia and claiming to be the first person to complete such a flight without a copilot. He flew during the journey. On 12 October 2015, Pipistrel won an international tender issued by the Indian Ministry of Defence, to supply 194 light

trainers Sneakers ( US) or trainers ( UK), also known by a wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual wear. They were popularized by compani ...

to the National Cadet Corps (110 aircraft),

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

(72 aircraft), and

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

(12 aircraft). The two-seat Pipistrel Virus SW 80 aircraft, known as the Garud after a bird in

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology refers to the collection of myths associated with Hinduism, derived from various Hindu texts and traditions. These myths are found in sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Itihasas (the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayan ...

, would be used for training of Flight Safety and Air Wing Cadets. By September 2019, all 194 aircraft had been delivered.

Variants

;Virus 912 :Initial version with wingspan and powered by an Rotax 912 UL engine. ;Virus SW 80 :Short wing version with wingspan. ;Virus SW 80 Garud :Special variant of the SW 80 developed for the Indian Ministry of Defence in 2015. 194 units were manufactured and delivered by September 2019. ;Virus SW 100 :Short wing version equipped with a more powerful Rotax 912 ULS engine. The SW 100 cruises at , which is faster than the long wing version. ;Virus SW 100 iS :Short wing version equipped with a Rotax 912 iS engine with direct fuel injection and an electronic engine management unit. Fuel consumption is reduced by 13% and range is increased by 18% with respect to the SW 100. ;Virus SW 115 (SW 914 Turbo) :Short wing version equipped with a Rotax 914 UL turbocharged engine. ;Virus SW 121 :EASA type-certified model in the CS-LSA category. Short wing version powered by a Rotax 912 S3 engine. ;Virus SW 600 D :Based on the SW 121 but featuring a Rotax 912 ULS engine, it is the first aircraft to be certified under the new German LTF-UL2019 rules for the 600 kg microlight category. ; Velis Electro (Virus SW 128) : First

electric aircraft An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, ...

to secure certification, from the

EASA The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Commission with responsibility for civil aviation safety in the European Union. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs inve ...

on 10 June 2020. Powered by a electric engine developed with Emrax, it offers a payload of 170 kg, a cruise speed of , and a 50 min endurance. Pipistrel plans to deliver over 30 examples in 2020, to be operated as a

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...

. It has two

liquid-cooled Liquid cooling refers to cooling by means of the convection or circulation of a liquid. Examples of liquid cooling technologies include: * Cooling by convection or circulation of coolant, including water cooling * Liquid cooling and ventilatio ...

, 11 kWh, 345 V

lithium-ion batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energy ...

. ;Velis Club (Virus SW 121C) :Variant of the EASA CS-LSA type-certified SW 121 with similar avionics to the Velis Electro, including a haptic stall warning system. ;Explorer (Virus SW 121A) :Variant of the EASA CS-LSA type-certified SW 121 with Garmin G3X Touch touch-screen avionics and a haptic stall warning system.

Operators

Civil

The different versions of the Virus are flown by private individuals and flight schools worldwide.

Military

; *

– 72 × SW 80 Garud *

– 12 × SW 80 Garud * National Cadet Corps – 110 × SW 80 Garud ; * Slovenian Air Force and Air Defence – 5 × Velis Electro ; *

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force () (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of the Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Armed Forces. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was made a separate service in 1950. I ...

- 2 x Velis Electro

Specifications (Virus 912 SW 100)

References

External links

* {{Pipistrel aircraft 1990s Slovenian sport aircraft

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1999 Glider tugs Aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft