In the works: Ibis Aerospace Ae270 | Aviation International News

In the works: Ibis Aerospace Ae270

Certification by the Czech civil aviation authorities of the Ae270 turboprop single has slipped once again, from the second quarter of this year to late Au

By AIN Staff • AIN Staff

March 16, 2007

Certification by the Czech civil aviation authorities of the Ae270 turboprop single has slipped once again, from the second quarter of this year to late August, with FAA certification now anticipated for late September or October (from June), according to Jeff Conrad, v-p of marketing. Expected to join ship number five in the flight-test program soon is aircraft number seven. Ship five, the first production-conforming Ae270, has been flying since February last year. Ship six, which Ibis displayed at the 2003 NBAA Convention with a “green” interior, is now undergoing interior completion at Southstar Aircraft Interiors in Uvalde, Texas. That aircraft is expected to return to Prague next month to be reconfigured to the latest production standards. Certification flight testing with Czech authorities is also expected to begin next month. The Ae270 fleet (including ships one and three, which are not production-conforming) has flown more than 1,000 hours to date on more than 885 validation flights.

Under development since 1989 and announced by Aero Vodochody of the Czech Republic as the L-270 in 1990, the Ae270 was originally envisioned as a medium-range utility airplane in two versions: a Czech version powered by a Walter M601E turboprop and a Western version powered by a Pratt &Whitney Canada PT6A-42. First flight of the Czech version was planned for 1993, but development was slowed due to lack of funds. In 1997 Aero Vodochody and AIDC of China created Ibis Aerospace as a 50-50 joint venture to develop, manufacture and market the Ae270. Rollout and first flight of Ae270 ship one, powered by a PT6A-42, took place in December 1999 and July 2000, respectively. At that time certification was expected in July 2001. In October 2000, Ibis announced the introduction of a high-performance version of the model, dubbed the Ae270HP, to be powered by a PT6-66A turboprop. At that time the company planned to offer three versions of the aircraft: the Ae270W (with the Walter engine); Ae270P (with the PT6-42); and Ae270HP (with the PT6-66A and pressurized).

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