Seven-seater designed in response to operator's ‘pent-up demand' for new luxurious pressurised aircraft
A high-performance, pressurised piston twin, targeted at the business aircraft and air taxi communities, has beeen launched by US start-up Aviation Technologies International (ATI).
Ravi Tripuraneni, founder and president of the Orange County, California-based company, says ATI has spent several months analysing and researching the piston-twin industry and points to a replacement market for about 37,000 aircraft. Of these, 30,000 are based in the USA and 7,000 in Europe, Asia and Latin America, says Tripuraneni, with many piston twins such as the Piper Aerostar, Cessna 400 series and Beechcraft Baron around 25 years old.
"We have spoken extensively to current piston-twin owners to find out what they are looking for in a new aircraft," he says. The response has been "overwhelming" and ATI has incorporated operator feedback into the design of its seven-seat RT-700. "There is a pent-up demand for a high-performance, large cabin, quiet and luxurious aircraft, which we plan to satisfy with our new model."
ATI has completed preliminary design of the aircraft, expected to have a price tag of about $990,000. The RT-700 will be equipped with a Garmin G1000 glass cockpit and be powered by two wing-mounted 350hp (260kW) Teledyne Continental TSIO-550A pusher engines, incorporating full-authority digital engine control, which will provide a maximum cruise speed of 260kt (480km/h).
"We plan to offer a diesel engine version for the European, Asian and Latin American markets and are in talks with French engine manufacturer SMA to develop a custom-built 360hp six-cylinder version of its diesel- cycle engine for the RT-700," Tripuraneni says.
Tripuraneni is currently financing the programme, but says he is exploring investment options, including a direct public offering that should provide enough capital to fund the programme through to first flight – scheduled for the first quarter of next year. Certification is earmarked for the third quarter of 2007.
Aircraft design and testing will be based at ATI's Orange County base, but manufacture is likely to be in another US state, such as Nevada or Oregon, where overheads would be significantly lower, says Tripuraneni.
KATE SARSFIELD/LONDON
Source: Flight International
