Finding
Electric trainers are certified and flying in Europe and China because pattern work and short sorties fit inside a 50-minute battery; the US still has no FAA type-certified electric trainer
Pipistrel's Velis Electro received the first EASA type certificate for an electric airplane in June 2020, was validated by Transport Canada in November 2025 and flies at flight schools such as Green Flight Academy in Sweden and Saxon Air in the UK. China's Liaoning General Aviation Academy has the RX1E-A two-seater in series production and a CAAC type certificate for the four-seat RX4E.
The next wave targets FAA Part 23 and EASA CS-23 certification with longer endurance: Diamond's eDA40 (Diamond is owned by China's Wanfeng Group) uses Electric Power Systems packs and DC fast charging; Bye Aerospace's eFlyer 2 has been in FAA certification for years; BRM Aero's Bristell B23 Energic uses H55 battery modules. The flight-school case rests on lower energy and maintenance cost per hour and quieter circuits near towns; the constraints are endurance for cross-country training and charging at small airfields. Retrofits are a parallel track: Harbour Air's magniX-powered eBeaver floatplane is working through Transport Canada approval. BETA's five-seat ALIA CX300, the conventional-takeoff twin of its eVTOL, is in FAA Part 23 certification ahead of the A250 and has Air New Zealand as a launch customer.
Hydrogen trails at this size. Joby's German subsidiary H2FLY flew the four-seat HY4 on liquid hydrogen in 2023, and the Liaoning academy flew the hydrogen fuel-cell RX4HE, a variant of its certified RX4E; both are demonstrators. Light uncrewed freighters are listed here too: Pyka's battery-electric Pelican Cargo and AECC's hydrogen turboprop demonstrator, which flew 16 minutes from Zhuzhou in April 2026.
Trainers and GA
Electric trainers and GA airplanes
Active programs first, then demonstrators and closed programs; battery-electric before hydrogen fuel-cell electric.
| Program | Country | Powertrain | Seats or payload | Battery | Certification | Status | Operators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Integral E (Aura Aero) | France | battery-electric | 2 | EASA certification in progress | active | ||
| ALIA CX300 (BETA Technologies) | US | battery-electric | pilot + 5 or cargo | In-house packs | FAA Part 23 type certification in progress (certified first, ahead of A250) | active | Air New Zealand; Bristow Norway trials |
| Bristell B23 Energic (BRM Aero) | Czechia | battery-electric | 2 | H55 battery modules | EASA certification in progress | active | |
| eFlyer 2 (Bye Aerospace) | US | battery-electric | 2 | FAA Part 23 type certification in progress | active | Flight school and academy orders | |
| eDA40 (Diamond Aircraft) | Austria | battery-electric | 4 | Electric Power Systems packs | EASA and FAA Part 23 certification in progress | active | Flight schools |
| RX1E-A (Liaoning General Aviation Academy) | China | battery-electric | 2 | CAAC type and production certificates | active | Chinese flight schools | |
| RX4E (Liaoning General Aviation Academy) | China | battery-electric | 4 | CAAC type certificate (2023) | active | ||
| Velis Electro (Pipistrel (Textron eAviation)) | Slovenia | battery-electric | 2 | Two liquid-cooled packs; about 50 minutes practical flight | EASA type certificate Jun 2020 (first certified electric airplane); UK CAA; Transport Canada validation Nov 2025 | active | European flight schools (Green Flight Academy, Saxon Air and others) |
| HY4 / H2FLY-40 (H2FLY (Joby)) | Germany | hydrogen fuel-cell electric | 4 | Fuel cell; liquid hydrogen | Piloted liquid-hydrogen flight demonstrator (2023); feeds Joby hydrogen-electric S4 work | demonstrator | |
| RX4HE (Liaoning General Aviation Academy) | China | hydrogen fuel-cell electric | 4 | Fuel cell plus buffer battery | Flight demonstrator (2023) | demonstrator |
Seaplanes
Electric seaplanes, amphibians and seagliders
Short over-water hops fit battery range, and a dockside charger replaces a runway. Harbour Air's eBeaver, a DHC-2 Beaver floatplane on a magniX motor, first flew in December 2019 and is aiming for a Transport Canada supplemental type certificate in 2027; NOEMI Aerospace (formerly Elfly) and Jekta are designing clean-sheet amphibians of nine and 19 seats; China's RX1E-S float seaplane is already in service. REGENT's Viceroy flies in ground effect about 10 meters above the water and is regulated by the US Coast Guard as a vessel rather than by the FAA as an aircraft; it made its first crewed flight in September 2026.
| Program | Country | Powertrain | Seats or payload | Range km | Certification | Status | Operators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eBeaver (DHC-2) (Harbour Air / magniX) | Canada | battery-electric | DHC-2 floatplane retrofit | Transport Canada STC targeted 2027, after magni650 engine certification | active | Harbour Air (Vancouver); Bel-Air Aviation (Quebec, first conversion order) | |
| PHA-ZE 100 (Jekta Switzerland) | Switzerland | battery-electric | 19 passengers | 150 | EASA CS-23 and FAA Part 23 planned; scale model flying | active | Mehair (India, 50 ordered) |
| RX1E-S (Liaoning General Aviation Academy) | China | battery-electric | 2 | CAAC; production certificate 2025 | active | Gansu Huanghe General Aviation; fisheries patrol at Guanting Reservoir, Beijing-Hebei | |
| NOEMI (NOEMI Aerospace) | Norway | battery-electric | 9 passengers | 200 | EASA pre-application contract (2025); CS-23 target | active | UrbanLink (Florida, 10 plus 10 MoU); Loch Lomond Seaplanes; Pawan Hans (India, MoU) |
| Viceroy seaglider (REGENT Craft) | US | battery-electric | 12 passengers | 290 | US Coast Guard, as a vessel; design basis submitted 2025 | active | |
| P2 Xcursion (Equator Aircraft) | Norway | hybrid-electric | 2 | Prototype flown (2018); no certification program announced | demonstrator |
Sources
Sources and scope
- Scope
- Electric Trainers and GA Aircraft
- Sources
- EASA; CAAC; Transport Canada; Pipistrel, Diamond, Bye, BRM Aero releases
- Updated
- October 2026