Liberty Aerospace has secured a Japanese type certificate for its XL2 two-seat aircraft.
The manufacturer sees an emerging market in Japan for XL2s in government surveillance missions. Demand for trainers, Liberty's mainstay, is almost non-existent in Japan. But Liberty says various Japan agencies are looking at replacing some of their surveillance helicopters with small fixed-wing aircraft.
A few years ago Liberty, in conjunction with FLIR Systems, looked at outfitting the XL2 with cameras. Liberty says the project did not go forward at the time because the aircraft was then too light to accommodate the gear. But it says the gross weight increase that was achieved in 2008, which allows the XL2 to carry another 455kg (100lb), gives it the opportunity to look again at the surveillance market.
Liberty also revealed that it has shipped four XL2s to a Chinese flight school and is in the process of shipping six aircraft to a Polish school. The China aircraft join two XL2s already in the country that are operated by Liberty's Chinese distributor in the flight training environment.
The six aircraft heading to Poland will be the first XL2s for the Polish market. In early April Liberty appointed a distributor for Poland and five other eastern European countries.
Source: Flight International
