Pipistrel Apis-Bee


The Pipistrel Apis-Bee, also called the Apis/Bee, is a Slovenian mid-wing, single-seat glider and motor glider, that was designed and produced by Pipistrel.
By October 2018 it was listed as a "legacy" product and production had ended.

Design and development

The Apis-Bee is a second generation derivation of the original Pipistrel Apis design. The company explains the name of this version, "In some countries, the name "Apis" is trademarked, so we are unable to use it. These countries are, as far as we know, the following: Germany, Austria, Switzerland and some Scandinavian countries. There, the aircraft is marketed as "Bee". We chose this because "Apis" in Latin means a bee."
The aircraft is made from composites, predominately carbon fibre and fibreglass with some portions in sandwich configuration and some as shells. The tailplane is a T-tail configuration. The wing is the same as the wing used on the Pipistrel Sinus and Taurus. Its span wing employs a 17.01% IMD 029 airfoil, has an area of, an aspect ratio of 18.33 and mounts flaperons as well as Schempp-Hirth style airbrakes. The powered version has a pylon-mounted, retractable Hirth F33 BS two-stroke single cylinder engine.
The Apis-Bee differs from the early Apis by the incorporation of 133 improvements, including: retractable landing gear, steerable tailwheel, ballistic parachute, enlarged cockpit, new lighter Hirth F33BS engine that can be removed quickly and has faster engine extension and retraction, a redesigned propeller, lower vibration levels and better cooling, standard wing-mounted fuel tank replacing the former tank, new instrument panel, cockpit control ergonomics, the engine management system from the Taurus, re-balanced and lighter flight control feel, optional 5.00 x 5 main wheel, leather interior, solar panels to run the on-board electrical system, improved cockpit ventilation and canopy defog and a new firewall between the cockpit and the engine compartment.

Operational history

The Apis-Bee holds many Fédération Aéronautique Internationale world records in the under class: