At NBAA conventions past, Ibis Aerospace Ltd (Booth 6437) has displayed
a full-scale mockup of its single-engine, pressurized Ae270 propjet,
and at Orlando in 2003 a "green" airframe. This year,
attendees will get both the facsimile and actual aircraft completed
in 6/7-seat Spirit executive transport configuration; the Ae270
can carry up to 10 people. The aircraft will be available for private
tours during NBAA.
The Ae270 program is the result of a jv formed in 1997 between
Aero Vodochody of the Czech Republic, which has been building civil
and military aircraft since the 1920s, and the Aerospace Industrial
Development Corporation (AIDC) of Taiwan, with U.S. offices in Kerrville,
Texas. The Ae270 is built at Vodochody, just outside of the Czech
capital, Prague.
"Now that we have moved out of the development phase and into the
final stages of the certification program, Ibis looks forward to
receiving certification of the Ae270 in early spring 2005," Ibis
Aerospace president Jiri Fidranksky told ShowNews. The four-ship
test fleet has accumulated over 1,009 hours in 885 sorties during
the flight test program.
Powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66A engine,
the Ae270 has a maximum cruise speed 270 kts at 25,000 ft. Maximum
range is 1,544 nmi. Less utilitarian looking than the single-engine
Cessna Caravan, the Ae270 can wear many faces—an airliner,
corporate shuttle or configured for bulk cargo. Competitors include
the French TBM 700 and Swiss Pilatus PC-12. To date, Ibis has received
firm orders for 76 Ae270s, of which most will be delivered to the
company"s six distributors. Ibis declined to name any of the
actual customers.
Honeywell"s Apex Integrated Avionics System will be offered
as an upgrade option for future deliveries of Ibis Ae270s. The standard
Apex system on the Ae270 features three Active Matrix Liquid Crystal
displays (AMLCDs), a digital autopilot, all-digital flight management
system, Mode S transponder, Engine Indicating and Caution Alert
System (EICAS) and weather radar. Options include Traffic Alert
and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), Enhanced Ground Proximity
Warning system (EGPWS), DME and Honeywell"s Flight Information
Service (FIS).
