Cormorant Seaplanes Ltd is developing a revolutionary new, electric, amphibious, short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft, possibly to be made using nature's original, renewable, composite material: wood.

Recently announced further funding, as part of the Sustainable Aviation Test Environment (SATE 2) programme based in Kirkwall, Scotland, is helping bring the Cormorant project to the next level.

Part of this project is a flight dynamics investigation leading to invaluable information on stability and controllability, aerodynamics, aircraft performance, handling quality, and powertrain performance requirements.

Therefore, Chris Rijff, Managing Director of Cormorant SEAplanes Ltd, is today visiting a new partner organisation, Leichtwerk AG based in Braunschweig, Germany. At Leichtwerk, the Cormorant prototype airframe has found a temporary home and will be used for further aircraft configuration analyses.

Both companies are happy to be working together and are excited about the progress of, and prospects for, the project.

Reiner Kickert, CEO at Leichtwerk AG, stated: “Supporting innovative aircraft projects from concept to flight testing is one of our specialties. We are especially enthusiastic when these projects will contribute to more sustainable and safer general aviation.”

Chris Rijff, Managing Director of Cormorant SEAplanes Ltd, commented: “This represents a major step toward optimising the flight dynamics of Cormorant prior to the next stage – construction of a flying prototype. We welcome Leichtwerk AG as a valued addition to the community of organisations with which we are collaborating to drive our project forward.”