JUSTIN WASTNAGE / BERLIN
German trainer manufacturer Aquila is to deliver the first production A210 light aircraft at next week's ILA 2002 air show in Berlin. Aquila has taken seven years to refine the design and secure funding to complete the aircraft, developed to meet the demand for new aircraft meeting the European Joint Aviation Regulation - Very Light Aircraft (JAR-VLA).
Markus Wagner, Aquila managing director, says there is a growing realisation among flying schools that it is "anachronistic" to offer wealthy individuals flying lessons in 30-year-old types.
There are some "forward looking" flying schools which are ready to invest in new aircraft, he says. The company has sold 20 aircraft to customers including Lufthansa Flight Training, Daimler Chrysler's aero club and the flying school of airline Swiss, which will all be delivered by the end of the year.
The c112,000 ($98,000) aircraft will be delivered at the show to launch customer Hans Grade Flying School, which is based at Aquila's home airfield at Schönhagen, 30km (21 miles) south of Berlin. Aquila engineers are working extra shifts to complete the aircraft for ILA, but Wagner is confident that production rates will rise to one a week eventually, as each component has already been tooled during the five-year development phase.
Wagner and his partners developed the A210 to compete against Diamond's Katana. Aquila believes that its 500 litre (13ft3) baggage compartment and 1.2m (47ft) cabin width makes it more attractive to private customers than the Austrian aircraft. The aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 750kg (1,655lb), a wingspan of 10.3m and a maximum speed of 165kt (305km/h).
The company has established distributors in France and the Netherlands for Benelux countries and is currently in negotiations with several distributors in the UK, which the company considers a "difficult market".
Wagner is also optimistic that it will establish a joint marketing venture in the USA "before the end of the year".
Source: Flight International
