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Flight Trial: Pipistrel Panthera
Sleek, stylish and fast, it bests the SR22 in speed with middling payload. Only diesels top its efficiency.
The Panthera is as drag free as it looks. Wings and control surfaces are free of exposed hinges and hardware. Winglets further reduce drag and improve stall characteristics.
At the Aero show in Friedrichshafen, in 2012, the undisputed star was a sleek and sexy four-place single from the innovative Slovenian company, Pipistrel. The Panthera surprised on several levels because Pipistrel was a player in the world of microlight/light sport aircraft, but wasn’t thought to harbor aspirations toward the mainstream certified market.