Deliveries of Flight Design light sport aircraft have resumed with a shipment this month from a new supplier in Taiwan. Two aircraft will be shipped to Airtime Aviation in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Flight Design entered receivership in Germany two months ago after an international company failed to pay several million dollars for engineering work on an unspecified aircraft.
Tom Peghiny, president of Flight Design USA, said Flight Design could emerge from receivership as early as May, possibly an indication that a new investor has come forward. The four-seat C4 model will be able to continue toward certification once new money is found.
The name of the customer who failed to pay Flight Design millions of dollars has not been released. Since the light sport aircraft category was approved, Flight Design has led the market with the most deliveries in the United States.
During the company’s financial troubles, all U.S. customers received aircraft previously ordered, although deliveries to fill new orders stopped for nearly two years. A customer in Europe has waited for his aircraft for more than two years, but there are many more also waiting.
Flight Design USA is now using AeroJones Aviation of Taichung, Taiwan, to supply Flight Design aircraft and spare parts for the United States. AeroJones is a licensee for the CTLS and CTLSi series with Flight Design of Germany. AeroJones will also work on the C4.
“We are extremely pleased to get the first shipment from fully approved and certified producer, Taiwan-based AeroJones,” Peghiny said. “We have not been able to get enough airplanes to meet demand for nearly two years. With this first delivery of two aircraft to Airtime Aviation, we are going to get things really rolling again in the USA.”
“I recently visited their facility located in Xiamen, across the Strait of Taiwan from their corporate headquarters, and it is a highly professional operation,” said Peghiny. “I went there just before the first container shipment to observe the Flight Design staff from Germany and Ukraine perform the final compliance inspections in accordance with the ASTM requirements for the SLSA approval of those planes. The aircraft are Flight Design aircraft in all respects.”
He said the materials, molds, processes, and manuals are identical to those used to produce the existing worldwide fleet of CT-series aircraft. “The conformity paperwork is approved by the Flight Design engineers and the final FAA 8130-15 Statement of Compliance is signed by Flight Design engineers,” he said.
Flight Design USA and AeroJones will be in Manufacturers Display booth MD-017B at the Sun 'n Fun International Fly-In and Expo April 5 through 10 in partnership with the Southeast regional distributor of CTLS aircraft, Americana Aviation. Americana Aviation is also the U.S. importer for the Vulcanair high-wing twin-engine aircraft from Italy.
Alton K. Marsh
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