Aviat Aircraft has completed flight testing and received a Type Certificate for their newest model, called the PUP. Based on the highly successful Husky A-1B, the Pup sports a greater useful load, cruises at the same speed, and flies about 200 miles further on the same size fuel tanks. Like the Husky, the Pup is a two-place tandem, high wing, taildragger with identical measurements in height, length and span. The fuselage is fabric over steel tube, and the wings are fabric over aluminum.

By contrast, the Pup has 160 hp, instead of 180. It uses a fixed pitch propeller and has no flaps. This results in 610 ft takeoff roll, 1050 fpm rate of climb, a service ceiling of 17,000 ft, and a landing roll of 595 ft.

To comply with FAR Part 23, the Pup has undergone extensive flight testing and design analysis. Standard equipment in the Pup includes a MicroAir Com, GTX 320 transponder, PM 1000 II Int, Garmin GPS III, airspeed, altimeter, airspeed, oil temp/pressure, digital tach. EGT/CHT, amp gauge, compass, 600 X 6 tires, Cleveland wheels and brakes, polished hub caps and a two-color paint scheme.

The introductory price on the Pup is $110K in daylight/VFR configuration. "Essentially, we've taken the Husky back to basics and produced an aircraft that has a substantially lower price, yet it still has many of the Husky's desirable performance and design specs," said Aviat President Stu Horn. "This is an airplane for people who fly for fun and enjoy poking around in the back country. It requires a little more room than the Husky for getting off and landing, but it can be taken into all the same environments and will be adaptable to floats and skis. Pups do have STOL performance and can be flown in a really wide speed range -- 50 to 140 mph."

The Pup is ideal for fly fishing, hauling medical supplies, pipeline patrol, law enforcement, cattle counting, fish spotting, backpacking, mountain leaping, safaris, photography and weekend adventures that take on a life of their own. Dealer deliveries of the Pup are expected to begin this summer.

FMI: www.aviataircraft.com