Pipistrel’s CEO on electric aviation and the new large NUUVA V300 cargo drone 

Nested between the Julian Alps and the Adriatic Sea, Slovenia might appear to be a long way from the world’s top aviation hotspots. However, this small European nation has a very legitimate claim to being one of the cradles of electric aviation. 

Local aircraft maker Pipistrel Aircraft is still, as of June 2025, the only manufacturer to have a fully EASA-certified electric aircraft on the market, namely the Velis Electro, all while continuing to work on a number of other innovative aircraft projects. 

Pipistrel’s leadership in the field of electric aviation hasn’t gone unnoticed in the industry, leading to US aerospace giant Textron acquiring the firm in 2022 in order to form the kernel of its new eAviation division. 

AeroTime had the opportunity to pay a visit to Pipistrel’s chalet at the 2025 Paris Air Show and speak with the company’s President and Managing Director, Gabriel Massey, who shared the latest insights about the firm’s current projects. These include not just its portfolio of light trainer aircraft and gliders, but also the NUUVA, a large cargo drone which flew for the first time in January 2025 and was on display at Le Bourget. 

How has Pipistrel Aircraft changed since the Textron acquisition? 

“Becoming part of Textron family has given Pipistrel Aircraft access to resources and expertise, for example in the field of certification, allowing us to accelerate a number of programs” explained Massey. 

“When Pipistrel joined Textron, it created eAviation, which has several subgroups. For all the good reasons, it takes time to bring new technology to aviation. eAviation is trying to demonstrate that we can bring new tech and applications into aviation and do it at a faster pace. We are building technology centers focused on bringing new products to the market. We have engineering teams in Wichita, Kansas, and another team in Munich, Germany, that develops fly-by-wire controls for drones and surveillance planes. We are also using Bell’s technology in flight controls as well as the certification expertise found within Cessna and Beechcraft. This is part of our strength,” he added. 

The Slovenian firm is currently working on the Panthera program, to develop an all-composite four-seater aircraft under Part 23 of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

“Panthera is a top priority for us. Pipistrel had already been working on it for some time. We have since been able to shape the product and are readying it for the market.” said Massey.

Once certified, the Panthera will join Pipistrel’s portfolio of light aircraft, including models which have proven popular with the flight school market, such as the Explorer and the Alpha Trainer. 

But the product for which Pipistrel gets the most attention and recognition is the nimble battery-powered Pipistrel Velis. Massey explained how Pipistrel continues to develop this aircraft so that it remains the aircraft of reference in this space.  

As of June 2025, Pipistrel had delivered more than 100 Velis Electro aircraft to over twenty countries. 35 of these are operating in France, where a leasing company called Green Aerolease has pioneered a formula to finance the adoption of electric aircraft by flight schools. 

“Financing is very important for flight schools, because they don’t always have the capital to invest in new aircraft. So, Green Aerolease has come up with a great approach to reduce that risk and they help a lot with all those aspects. We really appreciate our relationship with them.” said Massey, all while highlighting how early in its development curve electric aviation still remains. “You need to educate the banks, the airports, the insurers… we spend lots of time educating them on this [electric aviation].” 

Massey sees interesting perspectives for the Velis Electro in the US market, the largest flight training market in the world by far. In 2024, the Velis Electro was given an exemption by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which made it possible for the Velis Electro to register as a light sports plane. This is not yet full certification, but it has opened the door for flight schools to use it.   

Having a serially produced aircraft operating in the real world confers Pipistrel a non-trivial advantage when it comes to continuing to improve the product. 

“We are learning a lot [about the Velis Electro], because of the enormous amount of data coming in from operations, maintenance and so on,” Massey said. ”So, we roll out changes on a regular basis. For example, we are expanding the operational envelope at low temperatures, now you can operate the Velis Electro at –15 C, whereas previously it was not possible in subzero temperatures. Likewise, we have released our second generation battery and are already working on the third generation.” 

Pipistrel is making sure all these changes are retrofittable into the existing fleets.  

“This is a part of our strategy. It is important to us, and we want to make clear, that you don’t need to wait [to get your Velis Electro], because tech is getting better with time.” 

Massey admitted that public attitudes towards environmental measures have had swings. Nevertheless, Pipistrel remains committed to green aviation. 

“The sentiment out there goes up and down, but we continue investing to understand electric technology better,” he said. 

In addition to the environmental benefits of the battery-powered aircraft, Pipistrel is also pitching the Velis Electro low operational cost and noise profile, which makes it a particularly suitable option for flight schools or airports located in areas that are sensitive to noise. 

“This is why [electric aviation] is going to be adopted regardless of the other conversation [about the environment], but it takes time, education and demonstration,” he added. 

Pipistrel is also investing in hybrid-electric aviation and has been an active participant also in EU-backed projects, such as the now wound-down MAHEPA program, to demonstrate the feasibility of hydrogen-electric aircraft.  

In this regard, the first ever piloted flight of an aircraft using liquid hydrogen, which was performed by German firm H2FLY (a subsidiary of Joby Aviation) in September 2023, was actually made using a Pipistrel aircraft as a testbank. 

The Slovenian firm is also diversifying into new markets, such as drones and unmanned platforms, for both commercial and government-related applications 

The 2025 Paris Air Show was the public debut of the NUUVA V300, a large cargo drone which flew for the first time in January of this same year.  

A first prototype of the NUUVA is undergoing flight testing, with a second airframe expected to join the program before the end of 2025. 

“People are not really using large cargo drones today, so we are talking with lots of potential users in order to refine the product and its use cases.” explained Massey. He added that the NUUVA could provide an efficient way to reach hard-to-get places, for example in logistics or humanitarian missions. Alternatively, it could have military uses, as a way to resupply troops in contested environments. 

“Now there’s a lot of talk about defense spending and this is also having an impact on product development,” Massey concluded. “The world is shifting. Nuuva is next and we have a lot more down our development pipeline.”  The post Pipistrel’s CEO on electric aviation and the new large NUUVA V300 cargo drone  appeared first on AeroTime.

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