Epic AIR has unveiled two new aircraft at Sun ‘n Fun show in Lakeland, Florida, displaying windtunnell models used to test the Escape turboprop and Victory single-engined jet.
The 33.4ft-long Victory will initially be powered by a Williams FJ33 turbofan and is farther along in its development than the similar Escape. Both initially will be available as kits.
“These two aircraft share the same pressure vessel and completely the same wing.” said CEO Rick Schrameck, “keeping with the Epic standard, or the Epic mantra: fill it up with people, fill it up with fuel, go full distance and full speed.”
The jet should reach a maximum cruise speed of 320kt and a ceiling of 28,000ft.
“We are on fuselage number three, and we will deliver six aircraft to customers before the end of 2007 at under $1 million," Schrameck said. "So we’re going to deliver what other people have promised. We’re going to deliver on time. It’ll be one faster than anything else has been done, and at a price point that other people have promised for years.”
He added that options, including Garmin avionics, will push the cost to between $1.2 million and $1.3 million. “It will fly to Oshkosh this year, along with our Elite twinjet and our Dynasty,” he asserted.
The Escape will not be there, though Schrameck thinks it will fly into Sun ‘n Fun in 2008. “This Epic, I believe, will be the fastest single-engine pressurized airplane in history. It will fly at 365kt with four or five people on board and full fuel, and full fuel will take you about 1,400 or 1,600 nautical miles.”
Althoughit is planning an experimental kit plane in early 2008 with a wingspan of 36.3ft, a height of 11.7ft and a maximum take-off weight of 5,500lb, the company is not yet committed to production. “We’ll build what the customer wants and certify what the customer wants," said Schrameck.
The Escape will be a 92 percent scaled version of the Epic LT singe-turboprop, and that size reduction is responsible for the slightly higher speeds of the newer aircraft.
Both designs aim for luxury, with reclining leather seats and wood trim. Though only the Victory will have a jet engine, Epic is referring to the four- to six-seat Escape as a “VLJ turboprop.”
Source: FlightGlobal.com
