This is such a modern, beautiful-looking airplane, ever since I saw the 1st mock-up I was Wow'd. In general, I have admired all of Pipestrel's sleek and efficient designs! Thanks Mark!
With Textron’s recent purchase of Pipistrel, I’m afraid this beautiful and innovative aircraft will fall by the wayside. Thanks, Mark, for sharing this one … she’s a beauty.
Like Columbia. They'll probably bury it. Thank god there are Czech/Slov manufacturers that are challenging the status quo. A Cirrus selling for $900K? Experimental AC are the ones that can save Private Aviation. The 60's-70's pilots are aging out and losing their medicals. Just spoke with a 81 y.o. pilot that sold his Cherokee 6 after losing his medical. We need more Young Blood in General Aviation.
This is a no-go product in the USA. It has retractable gear and is not certified (yet). Textron bought Pipistrel for the electric technology and will likely send this plane into the dust-bin with the Cessna TTx.
Hopefully Cessna learned their lessons with the controlled fail of the TTx and they don’t screw up this one. This plane got big chances in the market with some small optimized things. Even with Cessna in the background, if the management doesn’t do the same mistakes again.
I have also been a huge fan of this plane since Pipistrel was test flying it. I’m hoping Cessna does not shelf the product , but actually refines it to compete with Cirrus! I would rather have one of these for the price difference!
Everything is perfect except for the front visibility. Can you see the runway well when you are landing? Could you show us a real-time view with a camera at the pilot's eye level exactly?
Textron/Cessna wanted to sell the TTX but never got over their mistake of moving the composite layup from the US to Mexico. I think the southern factory ended up being shut down (temporarily decertified) by the FAA due to delamination caused by the humid tropical air during the infusing process. By the time they figured it out, they were in too deep. Plus the old factory was gone, and the workers with it. My understanding is the Pipistrel sale requires that the original factory and workers remain, though Cessna can open other plants. I heard (not sure if this is rumor) that the sale also required Textron to keep producing the planes. Textron obviously wanted the hybrid/electric tech, but maybe they will actually sell the original, too? We can only hope. I'd buy a certificated version if it were available. I'll be in OshKosh. Maybe we'll find out this summer.
According to the founder and previous owner of Pipistrel the deal was to keep current locations RD in Slovenia and factory in Italy both places are less than 20 miles apart btw also to employ some additional workforce on those locations. But Textron may build another factory for the US customers as well.
@@altergreenhorn Not sure if we'll get any answers from Textron, but I'll ask them tomorrow when I am in OshKosh. I think they are aiming for certificated versions next year, if rumors are correct. So 2025 if we are doing "aviation marketing math".
@@skywagonuniversity5023 True! That hull coverage is eye watering. I’ll do my part and keep the older fleet flying though. A Comanche or a Mooney will do 85-90% of the Panthera on 10-15% of the price. You just have to live with the fact that they are getting old. Keep up the videos, they are some of the best out there!
@@gmonnig Thanks. Yes, My 65 Mooney M20C was $800 to fully insure 25 years ago and about $1300 two years ago and now it is $1800. It has gone from $35,000 in value to $75,000 and I have many hundreds of more hours in it and many other planes with no claims and I do not see any discounts for good behavior yet.
@@skywagonuniversity5023 The insurance is still crazy high. I have a brand new SR22T, so right at 1MM hull for insurance purposes. I was about 500hrs and IFR when I got it. Under 10k to insure, which still seemed like A TON since I was closer to 3500 for a 182T with ~500k hull value.
@@skywagonuniversity5023 Aircraft prices have gone through the fricking roof. Several years ago you could buy a nice 150M for 25K. Now they want 45 and 50K. No way under the Sun am I paying that. Iv'e seen some 150's in the 60/70K range. And 152's with 10/12 thousand hours for 50K. Just unbelievable!!!! I'm just going to build a Kitfox or Rans, and have a brand new safe aircraft!
Wow skywagon that is a cool bird just wondering why when Mark takes off he calls out before left off this time they didn't super cool skywagon university thanks for that one 👍✌️
@@skywagonuniversity5023 before you take off mark always says the tail number and then says placerville this pilot didn't say a word jumped right in just wondering what the difference was learning a lot skywagon university thanks 👍✌️
@@furball5553 It's a private airport so he just didn't bother saying it. I always do because if I don't someone will pick me up on RU-vid. There is no mercy.
I'd like to have flown it but it was literally a 10 minute warning that it was coming and we had nothing ready. I was pleased that we got to fly it at all. It was here for a totally different reason.
There are few modern planes that excite me enough to say - yeah, that's totally worth 800K, but this one of them. Waaaayy more sexy than a dumbed-down Cirrus. Of course, do I have $750k to drop for this plane right now? No..... Just making observations.
She sure isn’t the prettiest girl at the dance. But at 200 miles an hour she can sure dance. Didn’t Textron just buy them out. Can’t wait to see how they missed that up like the Columbia and everything else.
@@skywagonuniversity5023 yeah it would be very neat to see it in person. I have flown one of their viruses. That plane was built extremely well so I imagine this one is too.
Love your channel Mark, but Cessna’s mantra seems to be ‘we’re a jet company, but if suckers keep buying our 60-70yr old designs for 20 year old Cirrus money, why not’… Pipistrel is (was) a pioneer… sad to see them sell out & (probably) get buried like Columbia… And really- like a new Beech Bonanza- $750k + & no FADEC?! WTF!
54 gallon of fuel for 260hp. Weak. This is America. We don't fly like our planes at 12.5 lop like these fuzzy little foreigners. We need more gallons in the tank. Also, the engine should either be 300hp or 210hp. Not this in-between bullshit. Mark, is there enough room up front for a 6'5 passenger in the panthera? It looks a bit cramped up there
So have you been in one? There is a lot of room and it is very efficient. The engine is as perfectly placed for economy and performance as it was in a Comanche 260.
