Two-seat piston single is first aircraft from new EU member countries to receive pan-European certification
Polish start-up manufacturer Aero is planning to start serial production of its recently certificated AT-3 R100 two-seater piston single, and is evaluating facilities in the city of Mielec.
The Warsaw-based company received its community standard for very light aeroplanes (CS-VLA) certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency in January, five months after receiving type certification from the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
The piston single is the first aircraft from the 10 countries that joined the European Union in June last year to achieve pan-European certification.
The company now plans to ramp up its sales drive. Aero has appointed S2T Aero as UK distributor and is negotiating dealerships in France, Germany and Spain. Brooklands Flying Club in Sywell, UK has signed a deal for two of the Rotax 912-powered training and touring aircraft and Aero sales director Marcin Lukasiewicz expects flight schools to provide the bulk of sales for the €79,000 ($104,600) aircraft.
"Flying schools don't want these new glassfibre aircraft for basic training, because unlike private flyers, the aircraft often has minor accidents and metal requires less maintenance," says Lukasiewicz. Aero plans to sell around 20 aircraft this year, but aims to move its small-scale production facilities from the south-eastern city of Krosno to Mielec, near Krakow in the country's south west.
Mielec was home to the country's former national aerospace manufacturer PZL and Lukasiewicz says the remaining labour pool is attractive. The company is looking for investors to fund the establishment of a full-scale production line, he adds. The company expects to produce around 100 AT-3s a year once such a site is established.
The aircraft is also scheduled for Australian type certification this month, and Aero president Tomasz Antoniewski says the company will not concentrate on the US market in the short term, building European, Australasian and African distributorships first.
"We could go the sportplane route, which would require some aircraft modification, or for [US Federal Aviation Requirements] FAR23 rules, which would be lengthier," he says.
JUSTIN WASTNAGE / WARSAW
Source: Flight International
