Production of an initial batch of five Mission M212 four-seat sports/trainer aircraft is about to begin at the Lambert factory at Wevelgem airfield, Belgium.
The 150hp (110kW) M212 has received its permit to fly from the UK Popular Flying Association (PFA) after a final 45min test flight by PFA flight-test engineer Francis Donaldson at Turweston.
This approval is the culmination of 10 years' work by Belgian brothers Steven and Filip Lambert. The M212 began as a Filip Lambert's research thesis at the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield in 1994. The design was declared winner of the Royal Aeronautical Society's light aircraft design competition in 1995 and progressed to the prototype stage under the supervision of PFA Engineering.
The prototype was assembled in Belgium at a new factory built by the Lambert family at Wevelgem airfield, near Kortrijk. However, because it was built under the supervision of the PFA, the aircraft was registered in the UK as G-XFLY. It complies fully with FAR 23/JAR 23 requirements.
It made its first flight in April last year at the hands of test pilot Roger Bailey at the National Flying Laboratory Centre at Cranfield University.
Following UK certification, the prototype M212 was flown home to the Lambert factory at Wevelgem. It has since taken part in the Aero 2005 show at Friedrichshafen, Germany.
A second aircraft is now being built at Wevelgem, where the Lambert factory is preparing to manufacture airframe parts for the first production batch of five aircraft. The M212 is an all-composite design with a fixed nose wheel undercarriage and a constant-speed, three-bladed propeller. A tail wheel model will also be available according to customer demand. A retractable undercarriage is being planned for an M216 version.
The sports/trainer aircraft is being sold in kit form for the home built-market and was originally designed to be powered by the 135hp Thielert Centurion 1.7 diesel engine with full-authority digital engine control.
HERNAN DE WULF/BRUSSELS
Source: Flight International
