/ PIPISTREL VEL IS ELECTRO / PLUG AND PLAY Can this little trainer bridge the gap from marvel to mainstream? BY SARAH DEENER O ne of these things is not like the others. A light sport aircraft with a glider-thin T-tail and high-voltage symbols on the side, the Pipistrel Velis Electro stands out against a backdrop of Cessnas on the Textron Aviation Employees' Flying Club ramp at Beech Factory Airport (BEC). This is Wichita, after all: the land of Clyde Cessna and Walter Beech, the center of the general aviation universe when piston aircraft production was at its height. So, what's this Slovenian electric trainer doing here? PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS ROSE DESIGN BY JILL BENTON 60 AOPA PILOT / January 2024