Canada Grants Full Certification to Pipistrel Velis Electro Trainer

(CANADA) Transport Canada validated the type certification for the Pipistrel Velis Electro on November 12, 2025, clearing the first fully electric airplane for routine flight training operations across Canada 🇨🇦. The decision means flight schools and commercial operators can now buy, register, and operate the Pipistrel Velis Electro, and, in parallel, the Pipistrel Explorer and Velis Club training models. Officials said the move follows years of test flying in Canadian conditions and a regulatory update that adds electric aircraft to the national rulebook. VisaVerge.com reports that Transport Canada’s action confirms the aircraft’s compliance with Canadian standards and opens the door to real-world training use.

What this approval means for Canadian flight training

The Velis Electro approval is the first of its kind in Canada and marks a clear pivot toward cleaner training fleets. Schools can now incorporate the type into syllabi, purchase units for fleet renewal, and register the aircraft for commercial training operations.

This validation also signals that regulators, manufacturers, insurers, and operators now share a common baseline for how electric airplanes should perform in day-to-day training. That alignment reduces uncertainty for school owners and helps airports plan upgrades to power infrastructure such as ramp or hangar charging.

Background: testing and international authorizations

The aircraft had been flying in trials since 2022, with more than 400 test flights carried out by partners including the Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre. Those flights focused on:

• Battery behavior over repeat cycles
• Cold-weather performance, important for Canadian winters
• Energy planning during normal and abnormal scenarios

Transport Canada’s milestone follows earlier approvals abroad:

• EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) — approved in 2020
• UK Civil Aviation Authority — approved in 2022
• FAA (United States) — Light Sport Aircraft exemption granted in 2024, allowing limited operations while the FAA’s electric certification path evolves

With Canada’s validation, schools training pilots for cross-border careers can factor the Velis Electro into programs with aligned expectations across several major markets.

Key technical specifications

The Pipistrel Velis Electro’s technical limits are straightforward and relevant to training operations:

These figures put the Velis Electro in a sweet spot for circuit work, takeoff/landing practice, and short local lessons—tasks that make up the bulk of early pilot training.

Operational considerations for schools

The Velis Electro’s endurance encourages focused lesson planning and operational discipline. Practical points for training operators:

• Build lesson blocks around short missions: circuit laps, an airwork block, and return with VFR reserve intact.
• Use standardized charging routines to minimize turn times between flights.
• In cold months, trim planned blocks by a few minutes to preserve battery margins.
• Teach students energy budgeting analogous to fuel planning in piston trainers, but with stricter guardrails set by regulation.

Benefits for scheduling and community relations:

• Low noise (about 60 dB) reduces community pushback and may allow more early-morning or evening slots.
• Zero operational emissions support local environmental goals and can ease airport/community tensions.

Regulatory changes that enabled certification

Transport Canada updated the Canadian Aviation Regulations and Standards (CARS) to include electric aircraft. Key regulatory provisions include:

• Minimum battery thresholds — clear stop points similar to fuel reserves in piston trainers
• Cold-weather performance requirements — ensuring sufficient endurance and performance on freezing days
• Guidance for operations manuals and standard procedures covering charging, storage, and battery checks

These rules provide schools and operators with a framework to write SOPs and to standardize training and maintenance practices.

Transport Canada’s updated rules are built to scale as more electric designs seek approval. For transparency, schools can review certification frameworks and guidance through official channels, including Transport Canada’s type certification resources.

Practical maintenance and training feedback from trials

Canadian operators involved in the trials highlight practical lessons learned since 2022:

• Battery health assessed across hundreds of cycles informed realistic life and replacement planning
• Charging times between sorties and energy margins after takeoffs/landings showed how the airplane integrates with tight schedules
• Instructors noted smooth torque and simple power controls that help students concentrate on stick-and-rudder skills
• Maintenance crews used diagnostics and state-of-charge readings to design between-flight checks

These operational data points contributed to Transport Canada’s confidence in approving day-to-day use.

Fleet-level and airport infrastructure impacts

The certification shapes decisions across the training ecosystem:

• Pipistrel’s family approach (Velis Electro, Explorer, Velis Club) allows schools to cover multiple training stages with similar cockpit layouts.
  • This reduces transition time between types and simplifies spares/tooling.
• Airports can plan for power demand, charging station locations, safe charging layouts, and sheltered facilities in cold regions.
• Over time, usage data will inform standards for ramp charging spots, taxiway charging layouts, and peak-load management.

What stakeholders should watch next

Stakeholders across the training chain will monitor the rollout closely:

• Students want reliable lesson slots
• Instructors want predictable performance in all seasons
• Owners want durable equipment with predictable operating costs
• Airports want data to plan power provisioning and charging layouts

As more Velis Electros enter Canadian schools, real-world data will show how the airplane performs over longer periods and varied climates. That evidence will influence future electric approvals and guide investments in airport power capacity and charging infrastructure.

Summary takeaways

• Transport Canada’s November 12, 2025 type certification clears the Pipistrel Velis Electro for routine training in Canada.
• The approval follows extensive Canadian testing (400+ flights since 2022) and aligns with prior approvals in Europe, the UK, and a limited FAA exemption.
• The aircraft’s 57.6 kW motor, ~50–56 minute endurance, 60 dB noise level, and zero operational emissions make it well suited for early-phase training and community-sensitive operations.
• Updated CARS provisions set battery, cold-weather, and operational requirements that enable predictable, safe training operations.
• The certification provides a common baseline for regulators, operators, insurers, and airports—supporting fleet renewal and infrastructure planning as electric training scales up.