Apex Aircraft, French manufacturer of the Cap and Robin light aircraft lines, is on target to receive certification of the diesel version of the DR400, dubbed the Robin 135 CDI, in April. Flight testing of the single-engine aircraft, powered by the Thielert Aircraft Engines 135shp (100kW) Centurion 1.7, is scheduled for completion at the end of the month.
Apex chairman Guy Pellissier says the production rate of the Dijon-based company has risen from two to three aircraft a month, which he says has been achieved without employing more staff. "We have improved our efficiency and people are putting in a lot of overtime," Pellissier says.
The company, which emerged from a court-imposed period of observation last August (Flight International, 16-22 September 2003), is on the way to achieving its reorganisation, "despite a not very encouraging market", Pellissier says.
Source: Flight International
