Global Aviation Orders Five Elixir+ Training Aircraft

Greek flight training organization Global Aviation Academy has ordered five of Elixir Aircraft’s new Elixir+ two-seat trainer. The deal announced at the Aero Friedrichshafen show on Wednesday makes the school the European launch customer for the upgraded model, which was on the French manufacturer’s stand.

Deliveries to Greece are expected to start in July, with Global starting to replace its current fleet of 20 aircraft, including several Piper and Cessna pistons. In June, Elixir expects to deliver further examples of the new version to U.S. customers Cirrus Aviation and Sierra Charlie Aviation.

According to Global Aviation managing director Alexandros Tsaktanis, the flight school aims to achieve high utlilization rates to train its usual contingent of more than 300 students. “What we need is for the operation to be smooth and for each aircraft to fly around 5,000 hours each year,” he explained. Global trains pilots for operators such as Aegean Airlines and is based at Megara Airport (LGMG) in Pachi, Greece.

Elixir co-founder and head of sales and marketing Cyril Champenois told reporters at a press conference that the Elixir+ features 10 upgrades, including an increased maximum takeoff weight of 1,540 pounds, new winglets and improvements to the landing gear. The aircraft, powered by a 100-hp Rotax 912 engine, a Garmin cockpit and an infrared-filtered canopy, can carry two people weighing up to 220 pounds each and a full tank of fuel.

Champenois reported that Elixir’s engineering team is working on plans to certify the + model for IFR operations. It may also seek to upgrade to a 140-hp version of the engine as part of plans to offer a version of the aircraft for private owners.