REMOS GXiS Makes First Flight

From the company's production facility in Pasewalk, Germany, near the Baltic Sea, the REMOS GXis performed its taxi tests, and with the nosewheel up, took its first flight. Pilot and REMOS AG engineer Christian Majunke spent about an hour in the air, flying the full speed range, from stall to high-speed cruise.

Courtesy of REMOS AG

Under the redesigned cowling, the GXiS is the first REMOS powered by a Rotax 912 iS Sport fuel-injected engine. To make the start-up procedure easier, REMOS AG developed the SMARTstar system---almost all checks are done automatically with the push of a button. The GXiS features a state-of-the-art avionics suite that includes systems from Dynon and Garmin.

What's next? This first takeoff marks the kickoff for the flight tests required for European LSA certification. The goal is to certify the GXiS as both CS-LSA and ultralight aircraft in Europe. The company intends to offer the aircraft in the U.S. as an ASTM-compliant LSA.

REMOS GXiS
Courtesy of REMOS AG

The company has been designing experimental ultralights since the early '90s, originally as REMOS Aircraft GmbH Flugzeugbau, and founded by Lorenz Kreitmayr, whose physical disability confined him to a wheelchair, but didn't prevent him from fulfilling his passion for aviation. In 1997, the REMOS G-3 prototype took its first flight, marking the launch of a new class of ultralights. The airframe was produced in Bielsko-Biala, Poland, where most of the engineering was done, as well. Ten to 20 aircraft would leave the assembly line annually.

In 2006, the G-3 was certified in the U.S. as Light Sport Aircraft. In 2008, the REMOS GX was unveiled at AirVenture, which featured a fully redesigned wing entirely made of carbon-fiber composite material. More than 400 of the two models have been built, to date.

As REMOS AG (Kreitmayr is gone), the current model lineup was introduced in 2011, and now includes the lightweight GXeLITE and the top-model GXNXT (GXnXES in the U.S.), featuring a new avionics suite integrated into an innovative, low-weight and compact cockpit panel.

Check out the maiden flight: