Evektor says it has completed initial flight testing of its EV-55 Outback, the Czech light sport aircraft manufacturer's first venture into the twin-engine utility segment, logging four flight hours over five flights since 18 June.

The Kunovice-based company says it will continue to flight test the Outback over coming months and start assembly of the first conforming aircraft. The 9- to 14-seat aircraft will be offered in passenger and military transport variants.

The project, which is being supported with funds from the Czech ministry of industry, is also being helped by the Czech army, which, although it has not committed to an order, is aiding the certification process, Evektor chairman Jaroslav Ruzicka said.

He said there has been "a big interest from several air forces" in the aircraft as a rugged, low-cost transport. The Outback is also being pitched at charter operators in the developing world that use Cessna 402/404s, Antonov An-2s or other veteran types.

"This part of the market is waiting for a new design," Ruzicka said.

Ruzicka was one of a group of former LET engineers and managers who founded Evektor in the early 1990s when the collapse of the market in the Soviet Union forced the established Czech airframer to downsize.

The company has so far focused on ultralights and LSAs, of which it has sold more than 1,000 worldwide.

Source: Flight International

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