Sinus 
Virus 
Virus SW 
Taurus Electro 
Taurus 
Apis/Bee 
Panthera 
Spider 
Twister 
LN 
Bam 
Vario 
OSHKOSH AIRVENTURE 2011 IS BEHIND US!
Pipistrel's program has never been so well introduced as this year,
thanks to the hard work and organisation of the team Pipistrel USA!
Our big "thank you" goes to everyone who helped in any way, last but not the least the organizers of Oshkosh Airventure and of course YOU - each and every one of you who visited our booth. 
Our USA distributor managed to sign a 5-year contract with the organizers for the attractive expo area where we were located this year - so in the next years, you will be able to find us in the same place!
Until the next year!
Oshkosh Airventure - Monday - the day after...
The last to remain on our expo area was the G4, which will be flown to its new hangar tomorrow by Tine Tomazic. 
Oshkosh is behind us an we're on our way home. Thanks again to everyone participation and - see you next year!
Oshkosh Airventure - Monday - the day after...
A day after the finish, Oshkosh resembled a huge
anthill. Our expo area was being disassembled.
Mr. Vance Turner was diligently picking up papers and debris while all the
others helped to take David Dixen's Virus and Paul Randall's Sinus to the
runway.
Jonas Boll had already taken his SW early in the morning for the 1200
miles flight to Canada. 
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 7 (Sun) - the clean-up
On Sunday afternoon, the expo area slowly started to empty.
With the help of our distributor Michael Coates and especially the »workaholic«, Mr. Willi Tacke, who is always ready to help and used his connections, we managed to get a hangar to store our G4 and a truck to carry all of our stuff. It was a great relief to know we have a safe place to store the aircraft in the next weeks. The hangar is really large and imposing – and our twin bird will have some beautiful company in it!
The logistics were taken care of by very kind Mrs. Janet Davidson, a professional Cessna Citation pilot.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 7 (Sun) - home-builder workshops
Oshkosh is the basis for EAA the world’s largest organisation of
home-builders and aviation enthusiasts of experimental aviation. Every July
more than half a million of people gather here and over 10.000 mostly home-built
aircraft fly in. You can see everything from canvas to wooden aircraft, from
single-seaters to aircraft with a dozen seats. All the time very interesting
education courses are taking place. EAA organizes courses of everything that a
home-builder might need: from cutting wood, bending metal, welding, gluing,
stitching… all to the composite technology.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 6 (Sat). Evening storm and night airshow
After a beautiful and very hot day, the skies darkened almost in an instant. The horizon blackened, but the storm rushed in with the speed of 120 km/h – so fast, that we barely had time to strap the planes and get everything ready. In a nick of time, we were ready when the storm hit. We feared the worst, but thanks goodnes, the storm wasn't to obad (and another Sun & Fun luckily didn't happen – a tornado destroyed 130 aircraft there in April.)
As soon as the storm rushed in, it also disappeared and the day ended with a beautiful, peaceful evening, ideal for night flying. USA are the only country where night airshows are still allowed. The fire, noise, fireworks and the roaring of aircraft engines in pitch darkness were impressive to say the least!
If you missed this, you can be sorry…
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 6 (Sat). Dan Johnson
Obviously Saturday was the day for visits! Pipistrel's booth was visited by Mr. Dan Johnosn, one of the most prominent LSA aviation reporters, the editor of the most famous LSA website
http://www.bydanjohnson.com/
and a great promoter of the LSA category. His website represents a standard for all information about the LSA category - even the aviation authorities use it to get the information about the types of aircraft!
Mr Johnson was very impressed by the Virus and by the new G4. There is already an article (by James Lawrence) on his website about the Virus and the G4. They promised more to come!
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 6 (Sat). CAFE GFC, here we come!
Today was a very important day for our participation at the NASA CAFE Green Flight Challenge!
We were visited by the FAA inspector Mr. Gale Gauger who checked everything and then issued the permission for tests flights for G4!
A little while later we were visited by a representative of the CAFE GFC, Mr. Kevin Quirk, who gave the G4 a thorough check-over to obtain all the data he needed for the G4 to participate at the challeng.
Not log after that, we got another surprise visit! We were visited by Mr. Mark D. Moore himself! Mr. Moore from NASA Langley Research Center is in charge for the NASA Personal Air Transportation Technologies. We know him already from the PAV and GAT Challenges. He was of course interested in the Taurus G4 and wished us a lot of luck at the challenge.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 6 (Sat). Boeing 787 Composite
We were lucky to be among the first to walk aboard the Boeing 787 made of composite fibres. Hopefully the use of composite technology in passenger planes will help overcome the prejudice of American small aircraft owners who swear to aluminum, even though composite materials have been in use for decades and have proven themselves to be lighter and more durable.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 5 (Fri). Congratulations team Pipistrel USA!
All compliments to the team Pipistrel USA,
who really did their best during the expo!
Not only had they displayed 5 different Pipistrel aircraft at the expo booth,
but also another Virus 912 LSA, owned by SALSA (San Antonio Light Sport Aviation), represented by our distributor
Mr. Rand Vollmer – at the Brennand airport (12 miles away). 
The pilot Dave White was giving demo flights on the Virus throughout the duration of the
expo and he took off with over 70 potential customers! All this time the team
also organized transport to and from the demo flight airport. Well done, guys,
and congratulations!
The journalist James Lawrence (Plane & pilot magazine) was so enthusiastic
about his demo flight that he kept trying to convince his colleagues to go ad
try Pipistrel aircraft! This is the greatest compliment for a producer.
Thanks everyone!
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 5 (Fri). LEAP award and a big surprise!
Today we got a biiiig surprise (and a
huge compliment)!!!
Mr. Erik Lindbergh,
the grandson of the legendary aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, who was the
first person to fly across the Atlantic, and Mrs.
Yolanka Wulff, Co-CEO of the Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize
foundation, unexpectedly arrived to our booth and brought us the plaque for winning
the Lindbergh Best Electric Aircraft prize in April!
They were keen to sit into the first
four-seat electric aircraft in the world Taurus G4. Tine Tomažič, head of the
G4 project, explained everything about the aeroplane. 
Mr. Lindberg again stressed the importance in Pipistrel’s role at developing electric aircraft and pointed out that some of the lecturers at the Electric Aircraft Symposium mentioned Pipistrel as standard for electric aircraft to compare other products with ours!
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 5 (Fri). HOT!!!!
Literally.
Today it was so hot that nothing helped - neither ice-cream nor ice-cold water. Everyone was just seeking shade...
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 5 (Fri). Old-timers
Alongside most advanced technology, some vintage and old-timer airplanes can be seen in Oshkosh. We were able to see some rare sights – performances of old airplanes, carefully maintained by enthusiasts, were flying both individually and in large formations, presenting the early era of aviation technology.
Oshkosh is still the place where roaring aircraft
engines symbolize American military power. We were able to watch the
mock-napalm-attack, performed by the only airworthy B29 Flying Fortress, a
great pride of the Americans (and little less of the Japanese, since this type
of airplane dropped A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.)
Air Venture is organized by EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association), the world's largest association of aircraft owners and enthusiasts, focusing mainly on KIT builders, modified aircraft, home-built and other aircraft that don't fulfil the standards of certified general aviation. In one week, hudreds of home-builders meet in Oshkosh to exchange experience.
One of them is our costumer, the owner of Sinus 912 KIT Paul Kuntz from USA.
He is documenting the
process of assembling his KIT on his website: http://www.pipistrelbuilders.com/
His airplane
will soon be finished. When he visited us at our booth, he exchanged experience
with Mr. Jonas Boll from Canada (owner of Virus SW KIT – after he assembled it,
he flew it 1200 miles from his home to Oshkosh!)
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 4 (Thu). Burt Rutan
The main topic of this year's expo is "Tribute to the legend - Burt Rutan" and his aircraft.
The majority of his aircraft can be seen at the expo. Two of the most interesting ones, the Boomerang and the Starship, also took flight.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 4 (Thu). Thank you, Shelly and Dan!
The Pipistrel local dealers for North-Eastern USA, Shelly and Dan Carter had to leave the expo today.
We are very grateful for all their help. Hope to see you again, soon!
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 4 (Thu). Marcos Bavdas
We were honoured by the visit of Mr. Marcos Bavdas, Head of Advanced Technologies section at the Science and Robotic Exploration Projects Department of European Space Agency. Mr. Bavdas came all the way from Switzerland and congratulated the Pipistrel team on the innovative concept of the G4 aircraft. He also wished us good luck at the GFC competition.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 4 (Thu). Phoenix Air
Yet another CAFE GFC competitor visited us. This time it was Mr. Jim Lee, the team leader of Phoenix Air.
On the first photo, the two Pipistrel Slovenia representatives pose with Mr. Lee and the USA distributor Mr. Rand Vollmer.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 4 (Thu). You've got AIR mail!
This year's Airventure is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the US Air Mail Service. To commemorate this occasion, there are many aeroplanes from this era on display.
Buildings and artefacts from the early days of aviation spark a lot of interest.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 3, Electric flight dinner
In the
evening, Ivo Boscarol (as the receiver of the Lindberg prize, one of the
pioneers of electric flight and a representative of European electric-aircraft
manufacturers) was invited to a dinner and discussion about the electric
aircraft industry. This dinner, graciously hosted by Craig Willan and co-organized by the LEAP
representatives Erik Lindbergh and Yolanka
Wulff, was held in the building just behind the PHP on the AirVenture grounds,
just outside of the main entrance gate. 
Invitees
included electric aircraft companies, aircraft companies interested in electric
flight, FAA representatives, and other organizations supporting electric
flight. The discussion was focused on how the industry could work together to promote
the future of flight.
The present guests reached a decision to form »EADA« - Electric aircraft
development alliance, with a mission to advance the development of electric
flight and to foster and promote the general welfare, safety, interest and
activities of electric aviation.
We were visited by a representative of yet another team who will enter the CAFE GFC, the Eco Eagle by EmbryRiddle Univesity.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 3, Electra One
Electra One, our great competitor for the CAFE GFC, is also here at the show. The entire team was present and they prepared a really nice introduction of the airplane and the project.
Calin Gollogan, the developer of the aircraft was also present.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 3, Synergy
Team Pipistrel was visited by John McGinnis, manager, CEO and project leader of the Synergy Aircraft, which will also compete at the CAFE GFC later this year.
He invited the pipistrel officials to come and have a look at the scale model of the Synergy aircraft.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 3, The press conference
If you missed the press conference on Wednesday afternoon, you can be sorry!
Tine Tomazic made a brilliant presentation of the CAFE racer Taurus G4 and explained the concept and the technology behind the design.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 3, There's always room for one more!
We were visited by our customer Mr. Guy Courchesne from Canada, who owns a Taurus and a Virus SW.
He made us all happy (especially the new Canadian dealer Mr. Jonas Boll) by ordering a Panthera!
Thus he became the 26th future owner of the newest Pipistrel aircraft.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 3, the rainy morning...
The Pipistrel team woke up to a rainy morning. The forecast had been 7 inches of rain, but luckily it wasn't quite as bad. The nearby restaurant, however, was a bit flooded.
The crew of the world's busiest control tower had an opportunity to take a breather - hardly anybody at all was flying. The Pipistrel team kept indoors and waited for the rain to stop in the afternoon.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 2, the flying fortress
Our team had the privilege to see the only Flying Fortress B29 "FIFI" which is still in the flying condition.
This is the same type of the aircraft that dropped the atom bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 2, Taurus G4 inspection
Pipistrel's booth was visited by the DAR inspector, who gave Taurus G4 a thorough check.
We are proud to announce that Taurus is now entered into the USA registry under the number N-448EC
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 2, Visit of the Rotax officials
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 2, At the Booth
It has been another busy day at the booth.
The Taurus G4 is the centre of attention of many visitors, so we had to get special K9 "security" for it :)
Throughout the day there are many attractive stunts and flying acts to be observed overhead.
Even the skies smile upon the Pipistrel booth! :)
No wonder, since angels seem to be flying around the expo area!
The most precious commodity at the expo is a little shade...
Oshkosh Airventure - Day 1, The Kick-Off
This year Pipistrel is present at Oshkosh in the most professional manner, as organized by Pipistrel USA and with cooperation of Pipistrel Canada. The aeroplanes presentation and the supports for clients is the widest so far.
Michael Coates, head of Pipistrel USA managed to secure a display location just a couple of steps from the main avenue, easily found and accessible at the east side of Hangar B. Arriving to the stand, the most prominent display is the Taurus G4, Pipistrel's entry for the NASA GFC 2011 Challenge, also on display are 2 Virus SW 100 (nose wheel configuration), a Virus SW 100 (tail wheel configuration) and a Sinus 912 motor glider. Another Virus 912 Light Sport Aircraft is available for demo rides. The display are is focused around a new centerpiece, which houses a modern computer based customer support system with a big screen LCD playing movies and giving potential customers all information about Pipistrel they may require. Two times per day the Team gives public presentations about all products featured on the stand via a Public Address system courtesy of Michael Coates.
You will be greated by a team of almost 20 distributors and helping hands, team of Pipistrel USA (Michael Coates, Robert Mudd, David Dixen, Rand Vollmer, Dave White, Vance Turner, Bob Bowers and wife Cheryl , Dan Carter and wife Shelly), Pipistrel CANADA (Jonas Boll and wife Alice) and team of Pipistrel SLOVENIA (Ivo Boscarol, Tine Tomazic and Franci Popit). Vance and David contributed their Motor homes, which feature the checks of the previously won NASA Challenge Awards.
This year Pipistrel, besides the first 4-seat and most powerful electric aeroplane Taurus G4 yet, attracts attention by presenting the LSA approved versions of all production models. All this attracts members of media, the reporter of Kitplanes magazine made a long interview with Jonas Boll, who built his Virus SW 100 from kit in only 7 weeks time and has accumulated 240 flying hours since this February! Kitplanes will receive a demo flight tomorrow so look for the piece in the next releases of the magazine!
On Wednesday the EAA will host a special press conference specially for the Taurus G4, Pipistrel's NASA Green Flight Challenge 2011 entry, revealing never-before-available details about this special aeroplane.
More information will follow as the show progresses, stay tuned for tomorrow's news shortly! We were so busy during the first day with customers that we only managed to take some pictures after the closing of the show. Here are some snapshots of the booth and the tired crew after 12 hours.
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