Grob Aerospace is establishing its own US entity to provide customer support for its all-new composite light business jet, the SPn.
Speaking earlier today, Grob chief executive Niall Olver said the move reflects the fact that roughly half the SPn customer base to date, as well as three-quarters of the world’s business aircraft fleet, is US-based.
Maintenance, spare parts, warranty, sales, marketing, aircraft demonstration, and eventually, completion design specification, will all be handled by Grob Aerospace Inc. The company’s new headquarters in Portsmouth, New Hampshire is due to be fully operational later this year and will eventually be home to the company’s dedicated US-based demonstrator aircraft.
“Our orders are real orders too. We take non-refundable deposits of $100,000. Our customers are seriously enthusiastic.”
Grob now has more than two years’ equivalent production in order terms under its belt. This represents a total of more than 60 orders. “Over the past 12 months we have secured a large number of orders from customers in Europe, the USA, the Middle East and Africa,” says Olver.
“Customers for the SPn to date are mainly private individuals, pilot owners and corporates, Olver says the SPn light jet is gaining a lot of interest from customers, who currently fly business turboprops. “This is because it combines the best of both worlds – offering the versatility of a turboprop and the ability to perform short take-offs and landings on unpaved runways, with the comfort, speed, and range of a business jet,” Olver says.
Source: Flight Daily News
