PIPISTREL PANTHERA FINALLY HERE

One of the world's most eagerly awaited piston single engine aircraft designs has finally arrived in South Africa. ZU-KTR is a long awaited Panthera, proudly owned by Bertus Kritzinger, a Free State trucker, and based at New Tempe in Bloemfontein, where the well-known Ferriera Aviation has assembled it.

- Guy Leitch

WITH ITS INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE claims, the Pipistrel Panthera captured pilots' imaginations when it was launched - but it has had a long gestation.

Pipistrel have won many prizes for efficient planes and so the Panthera generated much excitement when it was announced at Aero Friedrichshafen. If it had been any other company, the claims would have been laughable.

The key claim was that the Panthera was going to manage, "four seats, 200 knots and 1,000 nm." These were the magic numbers Pipistrel CEO Ivo Boscarol set as a challenge for his engineers in 2007. This was taken to mean a 200 knot cruise - on just 210 hp. Considering that the sleek Piper Comanche 400 cannot do that on 400 hp, many observers just quietly shook their heads and adopted a wait and see approach to the Slovenian plane builder's aims.

Time passed and it seemed that Pipistrel were indeed having problems making their numbers come true when Panthera development was moved to a back burner. Then it was quietly announced that the engine had been increased from the original's 210 hp to 260hp.

So the big question is - has Pipistrel managed to nonetheless create a 200 knot speedster that can comfortably seat 4 for 1000 nm?

Founded in Slovenia by the charismatic and brilliant Ivo Boscarol in 1989, Pipistrel has always been committed to efficient aircraft. Significantly he has now certified the first electric trainer, the Velis Electro, built on the nuttily named Pipistrel Virus base.

After the Panthera's launch in 2012 things went quiet. "The main reason it was held up was because Pipistrel was contracted by several governments, including the U.S. government, to convert their two-seat airplanes into unmanned aerial systems for surveillance use by the military," the company said in a later announcement.