The Pipistrel Panthera is currently expected to have close to a 200-knot cruise speed.
At AERO Friedrichshafen earlier this month, Slovenian aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel showed off their four-seat Panthera aircraft, sporting a new Lycoming IO-540 aircraft engine. The aircraft if reportedly drawing close to earning an EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) certification, according to Pipistrel’s CEO Ivo Boscarol, speaking at AERO, though it’s gone through many changes to get there.
More Details on the Pipistrel Panthera
According to Flying, the latest version of the Panthera has incorporated more than 200 design changes, ranging from small to large, since the first Panthera prototype took to the skies for flight testing in 2013.1 The cabin, for example, has been expanded in order to provide more leg and head room, though the largest change, according to Boscarol, is replacing the original Lycoming IO-390 engine used in the prototype with the IO-540.
Current Pipistrel Panthera Specs2
| Category | Utility (+4.4 g, -1.76 g) |
| Powerplant | Lycoming IO-540V |
| Rated power | 2 60 HP |
Weight and Dimensions
| MTOM | 2900 lbs (1315 kg) |
| Useful Payload | 1100 lbs (500 kg) |
| Total Usable Fuel | 2 x 27.7 gallons (2 x 105 L) |
| Full Fuel Payload | 770 lbs (350 kg) |
| Wing Span | 35 feet 8 inches (10.86 m) |
| Length | 26 feet 6 inches (8.07 m) |
| Height | 7 feet 2 inches (2.19 m) |
| Wing Area | 121 sq ft (11.2 sq m) |
Performance (MTOM)
| Stall speed (flaps extended) | 60 KIAS |
| Stall speed (flaps retracted) | 65 KIAS |
| Rotation Speed at MTOM | 60 KIAS |
| Maneuvering Speed Va | 143 KIAS |
| Maximum structural cruise speed Vc | 175 KIAS |
| Never exceed speed Vne | 220 KIAS |
| Maximum Horizontal Speed | 203 KTAS |
| Performance cruise speed at 75% power, FL 80 | 198 KTAS |
| Economy cruise speed at 65% power, FL 120 | 193 KTAS |
| Climb rate at MTOM and 105 KIAS | 1,550 fpm (7.9 m/s) |
| Take off run | 967.8 feet (295 m) |
| Take-off distance (50 ft obstacle) | 1,771.6 feet (540 m) |
| Approach speed | 80 KTAS |
| Landing distance (50 ft obstacle) | 1870 feet (570 m) |
| Fuel consumption at performance cruise speed | 14.8 gal/hr (56 L/hr) |
| Fuel consumption at economy cruise speed | 12.15 gal/hr (46 L/hr) |
| Range with 45 min reserve* | 1000 nm |
| Ceiling | 24,935 feet (7600 m) |
* At 155 KTAS, FL 120, with 4 people (4 x 86 kg) onboard.
Pipistrel says the specs may change as the design process finalizes, and that take-off and landing data is valid for ISA sea level conditions.
Flying is also reporting that the base price for the Pipistrel Panthera is expected to be about $480,000.1
Featured Image: courtesy of Pipistrel
Footnotes and Sources:
1 – Panthera Evolves as EASA Certification Nears, Stephen Pope and Marino Boric, Flying, Retrieved 4-20-17
2 – Pipistrel Panthera Technical Data, Pipistrel, Retrieved 4-20-17
