JUSTIN WASTNAGE / LONDON
Design rights dispute over kitplane-based light aircraft goes to court following bankruptcy of original manufacturer
Legal problems involving the former Stoddard Hamilton kitplane products continue, with Germany's Ostmecklenburgische Flugzeugbau (OMF) and New Glasair & New GlaStar involved in action over design royalties involving the OMF-160 Symphony two-seat high-wing light aircraft.
OMF filed a counter suit last month against New Glasair & New GlaStar's April action to reclaim $1.1 million design royalties for the aircraft.
The design rights for the Symphony are in dispute as it is based on the design of the GlaStar kitplane. Following the bankruptcy of original manufacturer Stoddard Hamilton Aircraft, the design rights to the GlaStar and its sister Glasair aircraft were sold separately and became the subject of a long-running case. The dispute was resolved last year when new Glasair owner Tom Wathen also secured rights to the GlaStar from Arlington Advanced Development (AADI), which had purchased the assets from Stoddard Hamilton (Flight International, 17-23 July, 2001).
Wathen's new company New Glasair & New GlaStar filed a suit in Seattle in April against OMF for breach of contract over the licence with Stoddard Hamilton under which the German manufacturer was to produce the aircraft. New Glasair & New GlaStar claims that as it bought the contract from AADI, OMF now owes royalties originally payable to Stoddard Hamilton upon certification of the aircraft. OMF has filed a countersuit for breach of contract.
OMF president Derek Stinnes says that, to get its aircraft certificated, "10 times more development work was needed than set out in the contract", which OMF had to fund.
This work included completing load analysis tests and significant redesign of the landing gear, seating and fuselage. The aircraft was also not able to achieve the 145kt (270km/h) speed set out in the GlaStar design, says Stinnes. The OMF-160 received German certification in August 2000, which was followed by US Federal Aviation Administration FAR 23 approval last April, under which the aircraft has a maximum cruising speed of 128kt at 75% power of its 120kW (160hp) Textron Lycoming O-320 engine.
OMF says that it would be happy to work with New Glasair & New GlaStar again once the dispute is settled, as the production aircraft and kitplane markets do not compete. The lawsuits could, however, last up to three years.
OMF, based at Trollenhagen, 130km (80 miles) north of Berlin, has sold 50 OMF-160s, has options on 50 more, and predicts increasing production capacity to 100 aircraft a year by the end of this year.
The company delivered its 25th aircraft late last week and has sold delivery slots until next February, says Stinnes.
Source: Flight International
