Kaelin Aero Technologies made a splash at AERO Friedrichshafen press day with the debut of its tandem-seat trainer in a swish of dramatic mist. But it isn’t smoke and mirrors: The B-100C took its first flight on June 26 from Donaueschingen-Villingen Airfield (EDTD) in Germany, which the company reported on July 6. The 30-minute flight kept a conservative profile, according to Kaelin’s CEO, Sandra Kälin. “The aircraft completed its first flight cleanly and gave us very encouraging initial impressions,” said Kälin. “This makes us optimistic that we remain on track to achieve LTF-UL [German ultralight] certification by the end of the year.”
Powered by an Edge Performance EP916ECi 130-hp engine paired with a three-blade MT propeller, the B-100C has a 162-knot cruise speed, with a 184-knot top speed and a 44-knot stall speed. Those are achieved within the current maximum operating altitude of 12,000 feet. Safety features built into the all-metal B-100C include four-point harnesses, a full rear cockpit for the instructor, and a ballistic recovery system. Retractable tricycle gear and a 972-nm range give the B-100C flexibility beyond training for cross-country flying, and the 27’ 11’’ wingspan means it fits into most modest T-hangars.
The company plans to continue testing, with certification anticipated by the end of 2026 and first deliveries by AERO 2027. For more technical data, visit Kaelin Aero.
Yes – and it is a MICROLIGHT…
That means:
I understand that a headline is a headline.
Yet a little bit of professional scrutiny wouldn’t hurt before falling into to jubilee mode 🙂
And it seems to be utterly nose-heavy.
Being flown solo from the rear cockpit…
Not sure why this is an issue to you. Many (e.g. Extra 300L, Pitts) tandem airplanes are solo only from the rear cockpit (although not all, e.g. Decathalon).
Simple;
this microlights MTOM is 600kg.
The engine is quite heavy on it’s own.
Unlike the mentiond Extra or other aerobatic aircraft, where the forward pilot sits on or slightly aft of the CG center, with this ‘Trainer’ the second pilot will sit way in front of the CG envelope.
The microlight (and it with that by definition NOT an aircraft) shouldn’t have the mass resource required to balance that out.
On the first 30 min flight they expanded the envelope to determine Vmin and Vmax, then proceeded to test the range at 972nm. That is some efficiency!