Company Estimates Just Over A Month To Go Before Production Begins

It is always an exciting moment for a company when it watches its first products roll off the commercial assembly line, especially when that product has taken more than 30 years to evolve from concept to reality.

With just over a month to go before the formal production process of the Martin Jetpack begins at its headquarters in Wigram, Christchurch, the buzz of anticipation is already apparent as the Martin Aircraft Company Production Team skillfully makes ready for this momentous occasion. Although the first aircraft will be the designated P14 aircraft – one before the first commercial model – having all the processes and procedures in place ready to be tested is a major milestone.

Says Peter Coker, CEO and Managing Director of Martin Aircraft Company, “Working with the marketing teams in both China and here in New Zealand, we are planning to have the capacity to assemble up to 33 Jetpacks by the end of the year. It is key that we have the right equipment, processes and procedures in place to ensure smooth running of the facility and to make certain that we are in the best possible position to overcome any teething issues quickly and efficiently. I am happy to report that our Goods Receiving, Inspection and the Stores Facilities are in place and ready to receive the aircraft parts. Our global supplier base is primed for delivery and we are expecting delivery of the first of the composite parts, our new Rotron engine and the drive train. In addition, detailed Operational Work Instructions are underway to underpin our procedures and processes.”

Coker confirms that other parts of the production process are also in place. The AMS production control system has been configured to provide traceability for all aircraft parts and associated documentation and the development of sub assembly cells, which will allow concurrent manufacture of subsystems as parts become available, is in progress. The production facility equipment and tooling are nearing completion and the top level procedures aligned with Part 148 certification requirements, which form the key elements of the Quality Management System, are 75% complete. Overall we anticipate that there will be 10 assembly bays set up within the facility.

As is normal in a growth company, Martin Aircraft Company initially plans to have the capacity to assemble 200-250 Jetpacks next year at its Christchurch facility, which it will increase to having the capability to assemble at least 500 Jetpacks per year over the next few years. However, the New Zealand facility will not have the capacity to cover the expected increase in worldwide demand and it will then look at having parallel facilities in other parts of the world to meet the demands from those areas.

Commenting on likely production sites for the Martin Jetpack, Coker states “It has always been our intention to have a parallel facility in China focused on the Chinese market early on. The KuangChi Martin Jetpack Joint Venture will provide a number of personnel from China to learn our processes and help build some of the Jetpacks this year. This will allow them to be the core team returning to China to set up the China market focused production facility. This China facility is likely to start being built at the beginning of next year. We’ll then look at further assembly plants in different parts of the world depending on demand and where the customer base is. However, our Christchurch facility will remain key to our production process and it is expected to take the lead whenever changes are implemented.”

(Source: Martin Aircraft newsletter. Images provided)

FMI: www.martinjetpack.com