Pipistrel

Pipistrel d.o.o Ajdovščina

Type	Private company
Industry	Ultralight aviation
Founded	1987
Headquarters	Ajdovščina, Slovenia
Key people	Ivo Boscarol, Chairman
Products	Ultralight aviation
Number of employees	85
Website	www.pipistrel.si

Pipistrel d.o.o Ajdovščina is a Slovenian light aircraft manufacturer established in 1987 by Ivo Boscarol and based in Ajdovščina. It was the first private aircraft company in Yugoslavia. Its facilities are located in Ajdovščina and near the town of Gorizia, Italy. By June 2016, Pipistrel had produced more than 1500 aircraft.

Due to legal restrictions imposed by the Yugoslavian government during the 1980s, the first aircraft was flown secretly in the evening, between dusk and dark. The flying times and shape of the hang-glider style wings earned the aircraft the nickname "bats" which was adopted by the company naming themselves after the Latin word for bat, pipistrellus.

In August 2012, Pipistrel was hit by a brief import ban issued by the Federal Aviation Administration. Pipistrel had opened a factory in Italy to benefit from the country's bilateral agreements with the United States. During a routine check, the FAA was unable to locate Pipistrel's Italian factory on Google Earth and banned the import of some of Pipistrel's products.

In July 2015, Siemens, provider of the Dynadyn 60-kilowatt motor used in the Alpha Electro trainer, warned Pipistrel that it should not use its motors for overwater flights, just as Pipistrel was about to launch a historic electric-powered flight across the English Channel and back. As it turns out, Airbus was preparing exactly the same Louis Blériot-like exploit, with a plane powered by a motor also provided by Siemens, and it was speculated that Siemens was pressured by Airbus.

On 12 October 2015 Pipistrel won an international tender issued by the Indian Ministry of Defence, to supply 194 Pipistrel Virus SW 80 trainers to the Indian Air Force, Indian Navy and National Cadet Corps.