Latrobe-based aircraft manufacturer GippsAero has officially received its Type Certificate from the US Federal Aviation Administration for its turbocharged Airvan GA8 TC-320.
While the GA8 TC-320 had gained its FAA certification in November 2009, the presentation of the actual certificate to GippsAero was held over and marked with a ceremony at the recent AirVenture 2010 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The GA8 TC-320 was initially certificated locally by CASA in February 2009, and as well as FAA certification the turbocharged Airvan also gained its European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification in late 2009.
The GA8-TC 320 is powered by a turbocharged Lycoming TIO-540-AH1A and features a Hartzell 80-inch (2032mm) diameter, scimitar design three-blade propeller. The turbocharged engine enhances the performance of the already extremely versatile Airvan with improved climbing and high altitude performance with a very low noise footprint.
GippsAero says the GA8-TC 320 has been selling well despite the global financial crisis, with 15 aircraft currently in service in a wide variety of roles. The turbocharged variant of the Airvan is also proving popular with existing Airvan fleet owners. The Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF International Asia-Pacific) has added three turbocharged Airvans to their 14 strong Airvan fleet for service in the rugged highlands of PNG and two GA8-TC 320s have been added to the Airvan Freighter fleet of Bathurst-based Air Freight Solutions.
Elsewhere, Western Australia tourist operator Alligator Airways has replaced its entire Airvan fleet with five brand new copies of the turbocharged variant, while long-term Kiwi Airvan operator Air Safaris recently invested in a GA8-TC 320 to bring their Airvan fleet to four. And in case anyone had doubts about the capabilities of the turbcharged Airvan, be sure to keep an eye out in the forthcoming Sep/Oct issue of Australian Flying for an interview with Victorian pilot Ken Evers, who recently completed a marathon circumnavigation in the aircraft.
With new Indian parent company Mahindra & Mahindra committed to ongoing investment and pledging to grow the business locally out of Latrobe, it appears all systems are go for GippsAero. The manufacturer is currently working on the 10-seat GA10, and Mahindra has already announced its desire to produce an 18-seater variant of the trusty Airvan. Here's hoping.