B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 - September 27, 2007 - (Page 12)

N B A A 2 0 07 Kingfisher mogul Vijay Mallya sees Epic VLJs as a way to carry customers from small airports in India to connecting flights. Kingfisher Sees Airbus as a VLJ Ingredient With news of Kingfisher Airlines president Vijay Mallya buying 50% of VLJ-maker Epic aircraft for $200 million, the airline has announced it will be partnering the business jet builder with another jet builder: Airbus Industrie. Formal details about the partnership haven’t been announced but the companies did share a few insights into the future. According to Kingfisher’s executive vice president, Hitesh Patel, “The main goal is to get EASA certification of Epic’s aircraft with the assistance of Airbus.” Kingfisher and Epic are hoping this partnership may facilitate the relationship between EASA and Epic. The two strange bedfellows will work with the Indian airline to develop a network of feeder routes throughout India. “There are many small airports throughout India, and this would provide more direct access to those places for customers,” Patel said. “It’s easier to build an aviation infrastructure than automotive or rail these days,” said Rick Schrameck, chairman and CEO of Epic. “I can’t say whether there will be any design or technology transfer between Epic or Airbus,” said Arnaud Martin, Airbus’s vice president of corporate jet & VIP programs. Martin said it was too soon to tell what the partnership would deliver for Airbus. Patel said the partnership came about because of their substantial relationship with Airbus, as Kingfisher has an order for nearly 300 of their aircraft. The airline also has a standing relationship with Pratt & Whitney Canada as a result of operating Bombardier’s ATR fleet. P&WC also supplies engines for Epic’s Dynasty turboprop and LT experimental aircraft. Schrameck did say they would be building a factory in India. He said it could be built anywhere. “That country [India] has really risen from the desert,” Schrameck said. “It’s growing fast. We want a factory there not just for Kingfisher but other potential customers as well. It could be built in Bangalore or Mumbai, I don’t know. I’ll just build it where Vijay tells me.” Epic intends to ramp production up to 400 aircraft a year by the end of 2008. —Evan Sweetman DA 50 SuperStar Shines in Diamond Display at NBAA Austro-Canadian Diamond Aircraft is displaying full-size mockups of its most recent ventures (Booth 4039), and announcing the latest progress with the D-Jet. Since September 14, two D-Jets are flying from London, Ontario, with number two—the aerodynamics and performance-testing machine—having been flown for 43 minutes by CTP, Daniel Ribeiro. Three more will follow for power plant/systems, avionics/electrical and function/reliability before the Williams FJ-33-4A-powered VLJ is certified some time next year. At an NBAA convention for the first time is a mockup of the DA50 SuperStar, formally launched in April after a maiden flight earlier that month. The four-plusone-seater, which may easily be confused with a DA40 Diamond Star on steroids, has a 350 hp Continental in its North American guise. The four-place DA40 itself became the wingleted and performance-enhanced —Paul Jackson Diamond Aircraft’s DA50 SuperStar mockup, seen for the first time ever here. DA40XL at the last Convention. 12 September 27, 2007 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

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Why Buy Columbia? Too Much of a Good Thing? The User Fee Fracas Big Toys for Big Boys Honeywell for RNP High Miles Air Taxi Bombardier at Your Service NARA Names Officers Learjet’s Racier Image ILA 2008 in Berlin Gulfstream Hangar Opens Anti-Runway Incursions Like ReallyLarge Cabins? Sentient-Jet Direct

B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 - September 27, 2007

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