Micco Aircraft (MAC) has received US certification for the SP20, an upgrade of the 1940s-vintage Meyers 145 all-metal two-seat light aircraft.
Fort Pierce, Florida-based MAC, which is owned by the Seminole native American tribe, planned to deliver the first production SP20 on 15 January.
MAC president DeWitt Beckett says there is an order backlog for 30 aircraft. Production is set to reach one a week in April, he says.
The retractable-gear Meyers 145 was originally certificated in 1948 and spawned the four-seat Meyers 200 and the turboprop-powered Interceptor 400. The upgraded SP20 incorporates the 200's vertical tail and 400's wing. Other improvements include increased gross weight, a 150kW (200hp) engine, three-blade constant-speed propeller, sliding canopy and retractable tailwheel.
Beckett says there is no direct competitor for the SP20, which cruises at 140kt (260km/h) and sells for $147,500 equipped for visual flight rules ($162,900 equipped for instrument flight rules).
The SP20 has been certificated under the US Federal Aviation Administration's Part 23 utility category. MAC is working on an uprated, aerobatic version - the SP26 - which it expects to certificate later this year. The first SP26, powered by a 195kW engine and with a strengthened airframe, is to fly in mid-February.
Source: Flight International
