Start
The first flight was conducted by Schempp-Hirths engineer Swen Lehner and the boss of the SOLO Engine factory Wolfgang Emmerich, in beautiful sunshine and temperatures nearing 30 degrees celcius in the shade. Thanks to the flaps of the Arcus, the aircraft took off after a short roll (approx 200m) and climbed quickly to altitude where the engine was switched off and retracted. The propeller is automatically stopped from spinning via a brake and brought into retract position via sensors without input from the pilot.

New automatic engine controll unit
Powered by the brand new computer controlled direct injection Solo engine, restarting the engine in flight is effortless by simply turning the ignition switch to ON. The new system controls all aspects of the engine ignition phase including extension/ignition and fuel. The amount of fuel mix ratio is controlled by the computer system and is adjusted according to altitude of the aircraft.

Flight Performance
The high wing loading of the Arcus is hardly noticeable, except in glide performance, and the large airbrakes allow for pinpoint accurate landings. The roll out is made much easier through the steerable tail wheel which is integrated in the rudder.

Click her here to see a YouTube clip of the launch