Hints of trouble began to emerge at Bend, Ore.-based Epic more than a year ago when a deal for a $200 million
Epic LT
Hints of trouble began to emerge at Bend, Ore.-based Epic more than a year ago when a deal for a $200 million
infusion from an Indian billionaire collapsed, the company skipped EAA AirVenture and then issued a press release entitled “Business is Booming.” The release raised more questions than answers and had a whistling-past-the-graveyard ring to it. Epic was developing no fewer than three new single-engine turboprops and last year promised a master plan for “the next ten years of turboprops,” including twins.
By July this year most of the company’s employees had been laid off. By August a court-appointed receiver was sorting through the company’s books and preparing it for
bankruptcy. The only aircraft Epic ever delivered was the kit-built LT single-engine turboprop. Through the summer, approximately 35 had been completed and another 12 were stranded on the production line. Plans to build a certified version of the LT–called the Dynasty–in Canada never materialized.
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