Regional-aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice has frozen its L-610M twin-turboprop-aircraft programme to dedicate its energy to the much-delayed certification of the Westernised L-610G variant.
The 40-seat L-610G is now scheduled to receive certification in the third quarter of 1998 to US Federal Aviation Regulations Part 25 requirements. The programme is being financed by a long-term loan of about CKr500 million ($16.6 million) from Czech bank Komercni Banka.
Let's earlier debts were cleared in a debt-for-equity swap with creditors Aero Holding and state-owned Konsolidacni Banka.
"To continue development of the L-610M version is rather difficult at the moment," says Let president Zdenek Pernica. This version is powered by Czech Walter M602 engines, which have no civil certification, and the aircraft was designed with the uncertain Russian market in mind.
Pernica doubts whether the L-610M is marketable in its present form, while the G variant is a substantially different aircraft, powered by General Electric CT7-9D turboprops, and with Rockwell-Collins digital avionics, including an electronic flight-instrument system, weather radar and autopilot.
The aircraft also has Western-supplied air conditioning and interior design.
Pernica believes that the aircraft's primary markets will be current L-410 users in Africa, Asia and Latin America, but hopes that it can also find customers in Central and Eastern Europe.
Let intends to market the aircraft on the basis of its fuel economy, maintainability, performance from short and unpaved runways, and its price - between $8 million and $10 million.
Pernica says that the company has an unspecified number of options for the L-610G.
Source: Flight International
