Kitplane company Glasair Aviation said at EAA AirVenture that it is moving forward with DeltaHawk Diesel Engines on a diesel engine installation for the Sportsman.
Diesel is an appealing option in areas outside the United States where avgas is scarce, including China, a notable market for the company, which was acquired by the Jilin Hanxing Group of China in 2012. While China does not currently have an Experimental category, Glasair and DeltaHawk are working to be ready to sell when they can. The company is evaluating potential paths to certification for the Sportsman: via the FAA with Chinese validation, in China first, or by a dual path.
Glasair also celebrated the teens who won the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Build A Plane design challenge and went on to build two Glasair Sportsman aircraft in the company’s Two Weeks To Taxi program. Fang Tiegi, the head of the Jilin Hanxing Group, said through an interpreter that of more than 170 customers in the Two Weeks To Taxi program, those teens were the most satisfying.
“They’re going to be rock stars this week,” added GAMA President Pete Bunce, who had approached Glasair with the idea.
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