Ibis Aerospace Ltd. tells ANN that it expects to receive type certification of its Ae270 single-engine turboprop aircraft shortly. The company added that all required actions for certification of the Ae270 aircraft have been completed and the company is waiting for final notification by Civil Aviation Authorities in the Czech Republic (CAA CZ).

The news of certification comes on receipt of written confirmation from the CAA CZ. Ibis received this news days before the company met with its board of directors last month in Taiwan. In the letter, the CAA CZ stated that they had in their possession all of the information necessary to issue a CAA CZ Technical Visa and that they expect this issuance to result in an Type Certificate to be released by EASA in December 2005. EASA is charged with specific regulatory and executive tasks within the European Union. Since the US FAA has also been fully involved with the CAA CZ during the approval process, FAA certification is expected to be granted shortly after EASA certification.

Prior to making this announcement, Ibis noted that all of the flight tests required to evaluate performance and flight characteristics had been completed. Flight testing of the Ae270 included 672 flights on one prototype, accumulating 714 hours 40 minutes. A second prototype logged 164 flights totaling 192 hours. An additional 438 flights were logged on a preproduction aircraft that accumulated 510 hours. The final flight of the Ae270 certification program was successfully performed by the CAA CZ on October 4, 2005.

The Ae270 will be certified under FAR Part 23. Certification of the Ae270 involved compliance with regulations in two sections of FAR 23 by using Equivalent Level of Safety (ELOS), a condition previously approved by the FAA. EASA is scheduled to review this documentation for acceptance and final verification.

Ibis Aerospace Ltd. is a joint venture company consisting of Aero Vodochody of the Czech Republic and AIDC of Taiwan R.O.C. Ibis Aerospace was established expressly to manufacture and market the Ae270 single-engine turboprop aircraft. As primary manufacturing contractor, Aero Vodochody will release the final reports on the certification, including FAR Part 23 and ELOS criteria.

Ibis further announced that the company has completed an investment plan for a new investor. This investment plan has been agreed to by the Ibis board of directors and discussions with an identified investment source continue. Ibis is expecting this additional investment to come in 2006. The new investment will provide for continuation of the Ae270 development program and is intended to carry Ibis through the start of serial production.

The Ae270 Propjet is a large-cabin, pressurized aircraft designed to carry up to ten people (two crew plus eight passengers). The Ae270 can also be configured for bulk cargo.

FMI: www.ae270.com