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Meet the aircraft
Pipistrel's two-seat Taurus combines self-launching with gliding flight. The powerplant retracts into the airframe when no longer needed, alongside a long wing and side-by-side cockpit. Several powerplant developments exist in the family.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗Early production flights bring encouraging feedback to the team
Writing during early production testing, Tomazic described a glider that felt steadier and lighter on the controls than the prototype. He particularly enjoyed its balance in turns and the quiet cockpit once the engine was stowed. His enthusiastic message gave the wider community an inside view of the team’s first experiences with the aircraft. The work was still in progress.
Factory test-pilot correspondence reproduced in Michael Coates’s newsletter. First production Taurus programme, including serial 002; date not established and development settings still provisional.
Michael Coates newsletter / Mike Muller archive · Read more ↗The engine installation has dedicated cockpit controls
The illustrated panel identifies an IBIS II engine controller, primer, ignition, starter and retraction switch. Priming uses a right-click interaction in the documented cockpit.
Taurus M · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Matjaz Klemencic · 2 min ·
Flying with Taurus from Pipistrel
A Pipistrel Taurus flight in the Julian Alps.
Real aircraft · Pipistrel Taurus M
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Pipistrel Taurus M
Pipistrel's two-seat Taurus combines self-launching with gliding flight. The powerplant retracts into the airframe when no longer needed, alongside a long wing and side-by-side cockpit. Several powerplant developments exist in the family.
The Taurus M is the engine-powered version represented here. Its cockpit includes sailplane flap, airbrake and landing-gear controls.
Pipistrel Taurus M
Pipistrel → · Explore the family →
Pipistrel Taurus M
Wikipedia contributors · Pipistrel Taurus ↗Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
Pipistrel Taurus M — motorglider with a retractable engine or folding/retractable propeller; ICAO special designator
ICAO — special designators ↗Checked 2026-09-14History & design
Development milestones
First flight: 2004
Wikipedia contributors · Pipistrel Taurus ↗Pipistrel Taurus · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1371907239
Pilot accounts
Early production flights bring encouraging feedback to the team
Writing during early production testing, Tomazic described a glider that felt steadier and lighter on the controls than the prototype. He particularly enjoyed its balance in turns and the quiet cockpit once the engine was stowed. His enthusiastic message gave the wider community an inside view of the team’s first experiences with the aircraft.
The work was still in progress. The correspondence mentions adjustments after flights and further thought about propeller and flap settings, alongside encouraging results from the retractable systems. His satisfaction is valuable as a factory pilot’s contemporary account of development. The broad performance claims in that message remain the team’s assertions, rather than independent measurements or present-day operating guidance.
Factory test-pilot correspondence reproduced in Michael Coates’s newsletter. First production Taurus programme, including serial 002; date not established and development settings still provisional.
Read the full account · Michael Coates newsletter / Mike Muller archive ↗A maintenance course leaves time for flying between showers
Pipistrel’s distributor maintenance course gave Duchènes an excuse to escape a Canadian winter and spend more time in the Taurus. Rainy mornings suited ground school, while breaks in the weather left opportunities to fly. With a fellow visitor named Mike, he practised engine operations and landings and found the aircraft accommodating.
Another afternoon brought flights with Belgian distributor Philippe. As the wind increased, they stayed on the nearby ridge for an hour, enjoying the unusual experience of soaring in cool air and light rain. The chief pilot eventually called them back by radio.
Free Flight 4/2009 · page 24. February visit to Pipistrel in Slovenia, with earlier Taurus flights in 2007; the short-wing Virus demonstration in the same article is separate.
Read the full account · Free Flight, Soaring Association of Canada ↗Adapted controls open the way back to flying
Hercek wanted a self-launching glider that would give him independence, including room to carry his wheelchair. Pipistrel agreed to work with him on a Taurus with adapted controls and invited him to help develop the arrangement. The aircraft also carried a personal remembrance: yellow seats chosen for the flowers his wife Jane had loved.
His first flight showed that precise hand movements would take practice, but the controls proved easier than he had expected. Further training followed before he took the glider home in its trailer. By the time of the article, he had accumulated more than fifteen hours in it.
James Lawrence, Plane & Pilot · April 2012, drawing on Hercek’s story supplied through Pipistrel. Individually adapted Taurus G2 with hands-only controls, not the standard simulated cockpit.
Read the full account · Plane & Pilot ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
MSFS 2024Taurus M
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Taurus M
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 7.30 m (23 ft 11 in) |
| Wingspan | 14.97 m (49 ft 1 in) |
| Height | 1.41 m (4 ft 8 in) (2.70 m, propeller extended) |
| Wing area | 12.33 m² (132.7 sq ft) |
| Empty weight | 285 kg (628 lb) |
| Max takeoff weight | 472.5 or 550 kg (1,042 or 1,213 lb) |
| Powerplant | 1 × Rotax 503 two-stroke, two-cylinder piston engine, 40 kW (53 hp) |
| Propellers | 2-bladed Pipistrel, 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) diameter |
| Maximum speed | 130 km/h (81 mph, 70 kn) with flaps extended |
| Stall speed | 63 km/h (39 mph, 34 kn) with flaps |
| Service ceiling | 3,900 m (12,800 ft) |
| Rate of climb | 2.9 m/s (570 ft/min) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
The engine installation has dedicated cockpit controlsTaurus M · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The illustrated panel identifies an IBIS II engine controller, primer, ignition, starter and retraction switch. Priming uses a right-click interaction in the documented cockpit.
Manual PDF pages5 and8; controls, not an invented external interface
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Soaring instruments and solar controls share the panelTaurus M · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The cockpit guide labels LX navigation and variometer equipment, a mechanical netto variometer, and separate solar-system power and battery-selector switches.
Manual PDF page8; developer-documented panel
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Compact sailplane controlsTaurus M · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The Taurus M cockpit has an elevator-trim handle, flap controls and retractable landing gear. A combined lever serves the airbrake and parking-brake functions. The cockpit diagram locates these controls in the side-by-side cabin.
Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF p.7
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗A Rotax-powered self-launcherTaurus M · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The manual identifies this release as the classic Rotax 503 UL Taurus M. The electric Taurus Electro is a separate aircraft discussed as background.
Got Friends Taurus M manual v3 · MSFS2024
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Follow the checklist through the EFBTaurus M · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The MSFS2024 chapter places interactive checklists in the Electronic Flight Bag, with item-location highlighting and progress tracking. Its MSFS2020 popup instructions are a separate chapter.
Manual PDF page10 · MSFS2024
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Pilot account
Early production flights bring encouraging feedback to the teamFactory test-pilot correspondence reproduced in Michael Coates’s newsletter. First production Taurus programme, including serial 002; date not established and development settings still provisional.
Writing during early production testing, Tomazic described a glider that felt steadier and lighter on the controls than the prototype. He particularly enjoyed its balance in turns and the quiet cockpit once the engine was stowed. His enthusiastic message gave the wider community an inside view of the team’s first experiences with the aircraft. The work was still in progress.
Tine Tomazic
Michael Coates newsletter / Mike Muller archive · Read the source ↗A maintenance course leaves time for flying between showersFree Flight 4/2009 · page 24. February visit to Pipistrel in Slovenia, with earlier Taurus flights in 2007; the short-wing Virus demonstration in the same article is separate.
Pipistrel’s distributor maintenance course gave Duchènes an excuse to escape a Canadian winter and spend more time in the Taurus. Rainy mornings suited ground school, while breaks in the weather left opportunities to fly. With a fellow visitor named Mike, he practised engine operations and landings and found the aircraft accommodating. Another afternoon brought flights with Belgian distributor Philippe.
Guy Duchènes
Free Flight, Soaring Association of Canada · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developers Pipistrek Taurus M ManualMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Pipistrel TaurusWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1371907239 · retrieved 2026-09-12Resource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftType designator
ICAO — special designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Glider and motorglider categories; checked 2026-09-14Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 1 profile choice
Pipistrel Taurus M
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2024
Pipistrel Taurus M: The chosen response supplies sailplane stick loading.
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