Although I'd love to have me one, after a few of the issues are fixed....my 50 YO Bo is slightly better in all areas except fuel consumption and panel technology.

One fool's opinion. Every aspect of this airplane is presented in the most favorable light. For one example, this is a very basic airplane flown in the video with minimal fuel and two rather light framed guys. "Useful load" is a much higher percentage of empty weight in this airplane than normal, and I suspect, as the load goes in, the performance goes down in a rather steep curve. Add air, parachute, FIKI and turbo to this airplane and it becomes the proverbial lead sled. Shave off some percentage of any of the performance parameters of this airplane and you have nothing.

I have rarely seen (ever?) prototype performance numbers come close to the "ready to market" plane "out the door", price included.

A successful product has to WORK in the real world, not just on paper and in advertising hype. Neither this nor the DA 50 presents any real threat to the Cirrus or A36, which are both real world usable airplanes that do not have any real daily operating limitations thrust into its operating envelope.

I would love to see technology and innovation come up with a true game changer in the general aviation offerings before my aviation career ends. Nothing seems to be in the offering at this point.

Jg

My guess is because the only Bo available now is a 6 place (3 row) airplane

Or in policeman's lingo: "nothing to see here, move on."

Jg

Well it does have 3 doors, a ballistic parachute, Lycoming engine, will run on "car" gas, trailing link suspension, will have very limited corrosion issues, it's quieter, and its also better looking then a gear down and welded Cirrus

And will likely be another marketing flop.

Jg

One thing I (and my passengers) really like about the Bo is the smooth ride. My mom used to ride in a Cirrus regularly, even more regularly she flew and still flies in the Bo. Her constant comment is, this Bonanza is so quiet and smooth.

To get the performance numbers planes are made progressively lighter and you begin to feel every ripple. How does this plane compare?

It's lighter than the Bo.....GW is ~3,000 lbs.

I don't think Pipistrel is aiming to take out Cirrus. I think they will be ok selling 20 of these of year. They will fix these minor issues. I own a single seat Pipistrel and my friend owns the 2 seat electric version. Pipistrel is a very responsive and nimble company that can adapt quickly given this is an experimental product. Think of this one as their Beta tester.

With your experience with them, do you think they have a good management team as well as the $$ to look after issues?

It's said to be quieter on the outside, is it any different on the inside? Had the gear been down and welded on the Panthera it would have been slower than the Cirrus and have a better useful load than it does, as well as have fewer moving parts to maintain. I love retracts, but there are trade-offs.

The one thing I do see is that there is an enormous amount of room for power increases. A Lycoming IO-540 making a mere 260 hp is very de-rated. If the airframe is capable of handling the increase in max gross, they may be able to make up for some of the useful load issues by throwing horsepower, gas, and money at it. That may not make it competitive against the SR22, but it might make it a more versatile airplane.

I could see a "USA" version (where 100LL is more available) with high compression pistons being an easy putt. That might get it up to 300 and result in less waste heat under the cowl from the exhaust system.

Regarding the high CHT issues, I wonder if a small ridge on those cowl outlets would improve air removal? If so, could that ridge be movable like a cowl flap?

Love this plane.

To the point about higher power being an avenue: the plane has a pretty high speed envelope (220 kias Vne), so it seems ready for more sauce.

Curious why AvWeb did a high speed run at 8k' and not down low. What they got seems like real world, everyday speeds.

Cruise climbs at 130 kias are pretty common. In Cirrus demo rides, that was the prescribed climb profile to keep temps in check. Worth mentioning the high CHTs came on an ISA +30 day. Hot.

Worth mentioning from Paul's AvWeb video, 90+ gal tanks optional with a (probably) 100 lb gross weight increase.

Yes, a turbodiesel on the front of this would be sweet but no one makes something that fits the spirit of the plane. Look what Diamond did to the DA50 nose to put the CD300 up front: inlets everywhere, cowling extensions for the tall engine. A 300 hp Deltahawk variant would be sweet. Light(ish), small/low profile. Vaporware still at this point.

The chute on your 50 YO Bo is slightly better than one in Panthera, I take it?

Yes, in the same way the "chute" on my B737, A380, PC12, C310, or any other capable airplane is better than the one in the Panthera. Not everyone has fallen for the marketing stunt, nor does everybody has spouses who don't trust their decision-making.