Found Aircraft Canada is planning to double production of its Bush Hawk XP in 2004 with the introduction of a tricycle gear variant of the light utility aircraft.
The Ontario, Canada-based company says the delivery last month of its first US registered Bush Hawk-XP to the government in Alaska has opened up a potentially lucrative market for the all-metal single-engine aircraft, both in tricycle and tail dragger configurations.
"The aircraft will be heavily used in Alaska and should get noticed by remote operators all over the world," says Found Aircraft director of marketing Andrew Hamblin.
The tricycle Bush Hawk is a response to demand from owner flyers in North America, says Hamblin, but interest is growing in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Scandin-avia and South America, he adds.
Found Aircraft is producing one aircraft a month and has a backlog of around two years. "Once it has cleared we will introduce the tricycle version. We expect it to outsell the tail dragger version in time," Hamblin says.
The Bush Hawk is available in tail wheel, ski and float configurations. The Aeroset amphibious floats are set for certification next month.
Source: Flight International
