Pipistrel Virus

[supernovae]

Anyone have any first hand experience and are any of these flying in the US of A?

The specs seem simply astounding and fun to fly.. Feathering prop, insane glide ratio (soaring capable), sips fuel, maintains decent performance and add in a chute, i'm not sure there is a safer more capable 2 seat plane available.

Just seems the process of landing is interesting with the spoiler approach

 

[tonycondon]

14 year old kids can figure out the spoiler thing in gliders, i bet you can too. i've never flown a Virus.

 

[supernovae]

14 year old kids can figure out the spoiler thing in gliders, i bet you can too. i've never flown a Virus.

I did spoiler in my dads glider, but it was a level right by my arms sitting in line with the rest of the flight controls. as far as I understand it in the pipistrel from the Flying mag review I read has the spoiler control above your head.. seems.. akward, not impossible though..

 

[steingar]

I've seen them at airshows, neat things. Never flown one though, sorry.

 

[theskunk]

I've logged about a half hour in one that a guy at my local field owns -- its a Virus SW that he's re-reg'd as an experimental so that it can have an in-flight adjustable prop and be an 'experimental self-launch glider'...

140kts at 3.8 gph. I want.

 

[docmirror]

Yup, saw it at Oshkosh. Impressed as well. As I recall, the outer wing panel is quick-remove for storage in a hanger? Pricey, but seems real sweet.

 

[Geico266]

Anyone have any first hand experience and are any of these flying in the US of A?

The specs seem simply astounding and fun to fly.. Feathering prop, insane glide ratio (soaring capable), sips fuel, maintains decent performance and add in a chute, i'm not sure there is a safer more capable 2 seat plane available.

Just seems the process of landing is interesting with the spoiler approach

Yeppers. I've flown one.

Nothing better than shutting the engine down, feathering the prop and looking for thermals.

Notice it only comes with the 80HP Rotax. You can hit VNE with the 80.

Landing approach is really different due to glide ratio. Spoilers are manual, and a must.

The company is rock solid. They have won the NASA CAFE challenge and $4 Mil of your tax dollars with their efficient aircraft.

 

[Art VanDelay]

I flew one back in 2007. Very nice, very expensive a bit skittish in crosswinds due to it being such a light aircraft. The BRS really cuts into the luggage carrying capability. But it is a well thought out design. That's probably why they got the award from NASA for it. Don't expect anyone on this board to praise it though. Anything that isn't a Piper, Cessna or Beech is an object of great fear.

 

[Geico266]

I've logged about a half hour in one that a guy at my local field owns -- its a Virus SW that he's re-reg'd as an experimental so that it can have an in-flight adjustable prop and be an 'experimental self-launch glider'...

140kts at 3.8 gph. I want.

No medical required.

 

[Geico266]

Anything that isn't a Piper, Cessna or Beech is an object of great fear.

 

[supernovae]

140kts at 3.8 gph. I want.

Isn't it rated for mogas too?

I wonder if there is much if any secondary market yet. i'd love to see if I could get a club or partner interested in one of these, the sub $20/hr fuel bill (without the option of soaring) is very intriguing

 

[ClimbnSink]

here is one for sale, there is a sinus as well. Logically motorgliders like this should be very popular given what you get. Much better deal then a new generation LSA.
Pipistrel Virus
09-13-12 renewed 11-26-12

2006, N126BF Based at Reid-Hillview, CA. Registered Exp. Exhibition/Racing. 153 hours TT. 5-yr. rebuild completed. 80 hp Rotax. Parachute rescue system, an internally mounted Garmin 396 with a GXM 30 Antenna, Blue Mountain Generation 3 EFIS/Lite, Garmin SL30 Nav ComTransceiver, an AK-450 ELT, Mid-Continent MD200-306/307 Nav Indicator, TruTrak DigiTrack Autopilot with an Altrak Altitude Hold, Garmin 327 Mode A/C Transponder, headsets
$65,000.00
bob wahler sahansdal@yahoo.com (808) 896-6203
http://www.wingsandwheels.com/want-ads10.htm

 

[Bill Watson]

Thanks for posting this. For an old sailplane guy, the Taurus has some appeal.

I guess I'm not from here.

 

[AdamZ]

I thought the name was unfortunate. Apparently its actually prononced Veerus.

Anyway I thought it was just a so so LSA then Alon and I stopped by their display at OSH and to say I was impressed is an understatement. I wish I could have flown one. I am pretty sure Alon was equally impressed.

 

[Geico266]

Isn't it rated for mogas too?

I wonder if there is much if any secondary market yet. i'd love to see if I could get a club or partner interested in one of these, the sub $20/hr fuel bill (without the option of soaring) is very intriguing

All Rotax engines prefer Mogas.

 

[Geico266]

I thought the name was unfortunate. Apparently its actually prononced Veerus.

If I remember right, Sinus & Virus are precision measurements of sound and/ or electical waves.

 

[Jim Logajan]

If I remember right, Sinus & Virus are precision measurements of sound and/ or electical waves.

Aviation Consumer has a review of the Pipistrel Virus SW in the May 2012 issue. (Need to be a subscriber to see the whole article.) With regard to the names, they say:

"And by the way, the airplane’s name derives not from some obscure Slovenian word that the company didn’t realize had an unintended translation. It’s quite intentional and a bit of an inside joke. When it began to find success with its airplanes, the Pipistrel staff would joke that would-be customers came back enthusiastically impressed after test flights and had thus caught the Pipistrel virus. The name stuck."
​

With regard to why they seem a bit scarce even though the company appears solid and the airplane has some good performance, the article explains:

"Although it’s gained a higher profile through the NASA challenges, Pipistrel hasn’t enjoyed wide sales success in the U.S. According to Ivo Boscarol, the company’s voluble and energetic founder, this is because Slovenia, where the aircraft are manufactured, lost its bilateral export agreements with the U.S. when the former Yugoslavia dissolved in 1991. Although the European Union countries do have these agreements, Slovenia joined the EU after they were negotiated, leaving the country—and Pipistrel*—in a regulatory no-man’s land. “We will address this by opening a factory in Italy,” Boscarol told us. For now, the airplanes are manufactured in Ajdovscina, Slovenia, about 20 miles northeast of the Italian city of Trieste. The new factory is expected to be operating sometime in 2015. In the meantime, it is possible to buy a Pipistrel through a third-party arrangement handled through Australia. Contact Pipistrel USA at www.pipistrel-usa.com or 213-984-1237 for the details."
​

 

[supernovae]

It's pretty funny they got some NASA money but we couldn't work out a trade agreement to earn any ROI on that. oh well. I'm keeping my eye on this company and these planes, they sound so impossibly good on paper it seems almost too good to be true. THe new price is on the steep side but that 65k priced one above gives me something to look for! Thanks all! great stuff!

 

[Witmo]

Aviation Consumer has a review of the Pipistrel Virus SW in the May 2012 issue. ...

With regard to why they seem a bit scarce even though the company appears solid and the airplane has some good performance, the article explains:

"Although it’s gained a higher profile through the NASA challenges, Pipistrel hasn’t enjoyed wide sales success in the U.S. According to Ivo Boscarol, the company’s voluble and energetic founder, this is because Slovenia, where the aircraft are manufactured, lost its bilateral export agreements with the U.S. when the former Yugoslavia dissolved in 1991. Although the European Union countries do have these agreements, Slovenia joined the EU after they were negotiated, leaving the country—and Pipistrel*—in a regulatory no-man’s land. “We will address this by opening a factory in Italy,” Boscarol told us. For now, the airplanes are manufactured in Ajdovscina, Slovenia, about 20 miles northeast of the Italian city of Trieste. The new factory is expected to be operating sometime in 2015. In the meantime, it is possible to buy a Pipistrel through a third-party arrangement handled through Australia. Contact Pipistrel USA at www.pipistrel-usa.com or 213-984-1237 for the details."
​

The SW US distributor for Pipistrel is here outside San Antonio (5C1) SALSA Aviation. The bulk of the aircraft is manufactured in Slovenia, trucked down the road to a facility in Italy and shipped to the US from Italy. Aircraft gets assembled here in the States.

SALSA Aviation has a Virus here at Boerne Stage airfield they use as a demonstrator and it is rented out to glider pilots or wannabe glider pilots. Dave White (CFI-G) is a factory trained demo pilot and has shown the Virus at various airshows around the country.

The Virus comes in some different flavors (wing length) and Pipistrel even has a Alpha trainer LSA that looks just like a Virus with shorter wings and no airbrakes for considerably less $$.

I've flown the Virus and it's a hoot.

 

[Jim Logajan]

Aviation Consumer has a review of the Pipistrel Virus SW in the May 2012 issue. (Need to be a subscriber to see the whole article.)

This appears to be the video version of the above article, though of course the article includes more detail:

Some points noted from the print article and video:
40 to 44 nmpg at 142 kts to 120 kts.
Cantilevered high wing.
Available with a tail wheel (8 kts faster in cruise.)
Allegedly available with 65 gallon tanks for a range well over 2000 miles (if you can last that many hours.)

But a small cabin - so a tight squeeze.

 

[RyanShort1]

The SW US distributor for Pipistrel is here outside San Antonio (5C1) SALSA Aviation. The bulk of the aircraft is manufactured in Slovenia, trucked down the road to a facility in Italy and shipped to the US from Italy. Aircraft gets assembled here in the States.

SALSA Aviation has a Virus here at Boerne Stage airfield they use as a demonstrator and it is rented out to glider pilots or wannabe glider pilots. Dave White (CFI-G) is a factory trained demo pilot and has shown the Virus at various airshows around the country.

The Virus comes in some different flavors (wing length) and Pipistrel even has a Alpha trainer LSA that looks just like a Virus with shorter wings and no airbrakes for considerably less $$.

I've flown the Virus and it's a hoot.

I second that. I've got about 5-10 hours in the Virus and it's a worthy aircraft. If only I had the spare cash to finish up the Commercial Glider rating...

Ryan

 

[Armageddon Aviator]

I thought the name was unfortunate. Apparently its actually prononced Veerus.

Anyway I thought it was just a so so LSA then Alon and I stopped by their display at OSH and to say I was impressed is an understatement. I wish I could have flown one. I am pretty sure Alon was equally impressed.

Yep, you can say that...:wink2:

The specs are just amazing and the aircraft is sleek and sexy...

Definitely something to consider if you want to get great performance without paying a fortune in fuel bills...

 

[Geico266]

Aviation Consumer has a review of the Pipistrel Virus SW in the May 2012 issue. (Need to be a subscriber to see the whole article.) With regard to the names, they say:

"And by the way, the airplane’s name derives not from some obscure Slovenian word that the company didn’t realize had an unintended translation. It’s quite intentional and a bit of an inside joke. When it began to find success with its airplanes, the Pipistrel staff would joke that would-be customers came back enthusiastically impressed after test flights and had thus caught the Pipistrel virus. The name stuck."​

Absolute nonsense. It is pronounced "veer us" , not virus. I did work for the company. Never heard it called something you catch, in fact the owner would get insulted. Sounds like a bit of PR crapola to me. ​

 

[Geico266]

Yep, you can say that...:wink2:

The specs are just amazing and the aircraft is sleek and sexy...

Definitely something to consider if you want to get great performance without paying a fortune in fuel bills...

Have you seen the Panthera?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tbgs8lxNVs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Tina (in the video) is the chief designer for Pipistrel. His work in design is absolutely world, class cutting edge technology. He personally is responsible for winning the top money of $4,000,000 in the NASA Cafe challenges against the best the US could offer.

One of the main reasons Pipistrel is not heavy into the US market is due to our legal system and sue happy lawyers. We had conversations about the woman at McDonald's spilling coffee on herself and collecting millions of $$$$. It puts a chill innovation.

 

[supernovae]

I watched a video and they called it virus joking that anyone who flew it would catch the pipistrel virus. I love the fact they don't take themselves so seriously with nonsense and build amazing aircraft.

 

[Jim Logajan]

Absolute nonsense. It is pronounced "veer us" , not virus. I did work for the company. Never heard it called something you catch, in fact the owner would get insulted. Sounds Luke a bit of PR crapola to me.

You may be right because I vaguely remember reading a similar story to yours about the origin of the Virus and Sinus names. The story related to the AvWeb/Aviation Consumer guys may be a bit of historical revisionism; not really sure.

 

[poadeleted21]

Absolute nonsense. It is pronounced "veer us" , not virus. I did work for the company. Never heard it called something you catch, in fact the owner would get insulted. Sounds Luke a bit of PR crapola to me.

Is that why the motto is " infected by" ?

 

[Geico266]

I watched a video and they called it virus joking that anyone who flew it would catch the pipistrel virus. I love the fact they don't take themselves so seriously with nonsense and build amazing aircraft.

They probably decided to "go with the flow" rather than fight it. When I worked for them it was taboo to even talk about the name being a disease.

 

[zaitcev]

They probably decided to "go with the flow" rather than fight it. When I worked for them it was taboo to even talk about the name being a disease.

We'll probably never know the truth. The fact is, it's virus now -- the kind that makes your sinus hurt.

They are playing at Jim Lee's turf and may be set to deal him a significant hurt, the kind that Grob 109 and Xenos could not. People losing medicals are starting to figure it out. All you need is self-launch endorsement.

 

[Geico266]

We'll probably never know the truth. The fact is, it's virus now -- the kind that makes your sinus hurt.

They are playing at Jim Lee's turf and may be set to deal him a significant hurt, the kind that Grob 109 and Xenos could not. People losing medicals are starting to figure it out. All you need is self-launch endorsement.

In any event, they are exceptional airplanes, designed buy world class engineers.

 

[Beaudeau]

Anyone have any first hand experience and are any of these flying in the US of A?

The specs seem simply astounding and fun to fly.. Feathering prop, insane glide ratio (soaring capable), sips fuel, maintains decent performance and add in a chute, i'm not sure there is a safer more capable 2 seat plane available.

Just seems the process of landing is interesting with the spoiler approach

 

[Beaudeau]

I have owned a 2013 short-wing Virus for two years. Transitioning from Cessna 170B (tailwheel), it is a lot lighter and more skittish.The semi-supine position is not particularly comfortable, and on long (5hr) flights can be painful. Surprisingly, the visibility over the nose is much better in the Cessna. Don't expect 40 mpg; -- I get about 20 at best at 110 knots, still good with 90 octane mogas. The overhead spoiler control is no problem; -- you can pull it halfway once you have made the runway, and the suction keeps it out until you land, at which time it pops in. You need to pay attention to the flap setting. 5 deg negative is needed above 80 knots. Forget about grass or dirt runways; the prop's ground clearance is about 4 inches. The three-screen Dynon panel bothers me; -- a pilot should look outside instead of staring at all the info on the panel. I fly it by the round gauges (I have an instrument rating) and pronounce it "Vairus"; if you say "Veerus", everybody hears "Cirrus". All in all, I prefer to fly the Cessna at 12 mpg 100LL @ 90 knots (55% power) which carries a lot more and is a lot more stable, but it's just too expensive to run for fun. But with 4-5 people aboard and luggage, this 65-year old plane matches the Virus's per-person economy.

 

[tsts4]

You realize this is a 6 year old thread right?

 

[IK04]

 

[AGLyme]

When I went plane shopping at Sun n Fun 2018, I couldn't wait to try the Virus SW (Short Wing). My mission was VFR trips, economy, safety (glass cockpit and A/P), comfort and superb visibility.

I whittled my choices down to the Pipistrel, Flight Design or Kitfox (wanted to buy a new one, I didn't have the skills, time or courage to build one myself). Kitfox was out as they wanted a year and a half build lead time (which means they really only want to build kits, which has served them in good stead).
Early one morning, I jumped in the Virus at their static display and I was surprised how cramped it felt inside. The visibility over the dash was D-, and, worse, for me (I am 6'0" tall), my head was too close to the wing box. In a cantilever'd design (no outside wing struts), the two wings are slipped into a box and then pinned. The box is above and in front of the pilot's head. It was obvious that the design pluses of this plane (speed and economy), of which there are many, come at the expense of comfort. I am almost 60, visibility and comfort are critical mission factors.
When I got into the Flight Design, it was a Goldilocks experience. The visibility and comfort are A+ and the economy is too. I have 100 hours in the plane and I am experiencing 28 mpg at cruise. When I flew the 750 miles to OSH, I did stop for gas, but I didn't technically need to. The one negative during decision time was the Flight Design company had emerged only recently from their financial challenges, but, I had noticed at the time that the company was making significant financial investment plans, and indeed those plans are now reality as they are coming out with new models.

 

[Warmi]

Regarding FD vs Pipistrel comfort ... I guess that is why FD got something like 2000 airframes flying out there while Pipistrel is mostly known for their gliders only ...

 

[Crashnburn]

When I went plane shopping at Sun n Fun 2018, I couldn't wait to try the Virus SW (Short Wing). My mission was VFR trips, economy, safety (glass cockpit and A/P), comfort and superb visibility.

I whittled my choices down to the Pipistrel, Flight Design or Kitfox (wanted to buy a new one, I didn't have the skills, time or courage to build one myself). Kitfox was out as they wanted a year and a half build lead time (which means they really only want to build kits, which has served them in good stead).
Early one morning, I jumped in the Virus at their static display and I was surprised how cramped it felt inside. The visibility over the dash was D-, and, worse, for me (I am 6'0" tall), my head was too close to the wing box. In a cantilever'd design (no outside wing struts), the two wings are slipped into a box and then pinned. The box is above and in front of the pilot's head. It was obvious that the design pluses of this plane (speed and economy), of which there are many, come at the expense of comfort. I am almost 60, visibility and comfort are critical mission factors.
When I got into the Flight Design, it was a Goldilocks experience. The visibility and comfort are A+ and the economy is too. I have 100 hours in the plane and I am experiencing 28 mpg at cruise. When I flew the 750 miles to OSH, I did stop for gas, but I didn't technically need to. The one negative during decision time was the Flight Design company had emerged only recently from their financial challenges, but, I had noticed at the time that the company was making significant financial investment plans, and indeed those plans are now reality as they are coming out with new models.

Thanks for the PiRep. I crossed the Virus off my list a long time ago w/o ever seeing one in person. The Flight Design is still on my list.

 

[Vlad Mils]

All Rotax engines prefer Mogas.

Yes, true that, and ...vapour lock. Mogas is better for Rotax because lead from 100LL makes engine full of it in no time. Local flight school did 3500+ hours on condition with their Rotax912F3 using Shell 94 Mogas.
I was flying Diamond 20 Katana with Rotax912F3 using Mogas. Vaporlock during hot summer times is something to always expect. Auxiliary pump should always be serviceable.

 

[Kenny Phillips]

Yes, true that, and ...vapour lock. Mogas is better for Rotax because lead from 100LL makes engine full of it in no time. Local flight school did 3500+ hours on condition with their Rotax912F3 using Shell 94 Mogas.
I was flying Diamond 20 Katana with Rotax912F3 using Mogas. Vaporlock during hot summer times is something to always expect. Auxiliary pump should always be serviceable.

I believe that there is a fix for the vapor lock issue; I know it can easily be applied to the engines in E/AB; I don't know about certified engines, but worth looking into.