Manufacturer says orders for all-composite piston-powered twin are holding as it works to remove FAA restrictions
Adam Aircraft Industries is making a determined effort to clear all restrictions from the recently certificated A500 all-composite piston twin by the end of the year, thereby allowing initial operators full use of the aircraft‘s capabilities.
The A500 was originally expected to be certificated by mid-2003, but development and certification issues led to delays, the latter resulting in the aircraft receiving only a restricted type certificate approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration in May. “There were some outstanding issues, but those are being checked off as we speak,” says Adam marketing director Marc Blakely.
The list chiefly covers items related to the expansion of the altitude and centre-of-gravity operating limits, but also includes several related cabin interior and equipment features such as the autopilot and pressurisation systems. The list is divided into Block 1 and 2 upgrades, with the first set focused on clearing items such as the crew station airbags and “interior refinements”, says Blakely. The more substantial second block is “being run in parallel, and is more to do with lifting the altitude restriction above 12,500ft [3,800m], so that this will be fully cleared by the time the first four or five aircraft are delivered by year-end,” he adds.
Adam says final performance numbers will include a 230kt (425km/h) cruise speed, a range of more than a 1,850km (1,000nm) under NBAA instrument flight rules at 75% power, and a cabin altitude of 8,000ft at a maximum aircraft operating altitude of 25,000ft.
The initial batch of production aircraft are being assembled in Englewood and Pueblo, Colorado, with the later addition of a site in Ogden, Utah due to contribute to a capacity ramp-up goal of five to six aircraft a month. The company says it holds firm orders for more than 70 A500s, despite the delivery delays. Blakely says “the intense resource allocation to push the certification and button-up the outstanding items on the A500” have contributed to a further slow-down of progress on the jet-powered Adam A700. However the FAA-conforming aircraft is due to fly by the end of the year “and the goal is to fly a bit earlier than that.”
Certification of the A700, a stretched Williams International FJ33-powered derivative of the A500, was originally planned for this year, but is now provisionally set for later next year. “We think 2006 is achievable because a lot of the basic [certification] work will have been done with the A500,” he adds. Around 70% of the parts and structure of the two aircraft are considered common for certification purposes. The firm orderbook for the A700 “is in the 60s, exclusive of fleet deals”, says Blakely.
GUY NORRIS/LOS ANGELES
Source: Flight International
