Comp Air has secured $150 million in new capital that the Merritt Island, Florida-based manufacturer says will allow it to proceed with development of its all-composite pressurised 10-seat single-engine turboprop.
The manufacturer also revealed plans at the NBAA business aviation convention in Orlando this week to open a production facility at Melbourne in Florida and develop for an undisclosed Russian manufacturer a twin-engined high-wing turboprop that will be able to carry 22 passengers, but will primarily be used to transport cargo in developing countries.
Chief executive Ronald Leuck says California investment company MercMed committed earlier this month to provide $150 million specifically for the 10-seat Comp Air 12. He says Comp Air will be able to begin building a conforming aircraft in November, which it aims to produce from 2010 at a facility in Melbourne, which is being vacated by the Florida Institute of Technology. Leuck says the site is expandable and production could be ramped up from a planned 50 aircraft annually to as many as 200 a year.
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So far deposits have been taken on 20 Comp Air 12s, but Leuck claims an undisclosed air taxi company has tentatively agreed to acquire 150 aircraft. Development of the turboprop began in 2005 and the proof-of-concept aircraft flew for the first time in April 2007. In recent months the project has been stalled due to lack of funding. Comp Air has been in talks with MercMed for two years.
Both the Comp Air 12 and six-seat Comp Air 9, which flew for the first time in July, were on display at NBAA. The manufacturer, which to date has only produced kitplanes, is also developing a faster low-wing six-seat single-engine turboprop known as the Comp Air 11.
As for the proposed twin-engine turboprop, Lueck says development has been commissioned by a Russian manufacturer interested in bringing to market a versatile cargo aircraft with a modern Western design. He says the aircraft is likely to be manufactured in Russia, but sold by both companies, with Comp Air responsible for marketing in the Americas. Lueck adds the new twin "gives us another segment of the market. We don't want to be a single aircraft company."
Source: Flight International
