AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2011 - 41

lapsing the gear. “The aircraft skidded
for quite some distance,” Lunsford said.
Lunsford said the aircraft had been in
the pattern for at least two hours.
The new G650 is billed as the com-
pany’s “ultra-large cabin, ultra-high
speed” model. It can carry a crew of
four and eight passengers on a nonstop,
7,000-nm flight and can cruise at Mach
0.85 on longer trips, or cover shorter
distances at Mach 0.925. Rolls Royce
BR725 engines rated at 16,100 pounds
of thrust at takeoff power the aircraft.
The aircraft that crashed was one of
the G650 models used for certification
testing. One of the test aircraft flew at
near the speed of sound last year.
U.S.-owned Epic
passes FAA test
Epic Aircraft, located in Bend, Oregon,
passed an important test with the FAA
when it proved that its single-engine
kitbuilt turboprop meets the FAA
requirement that the owner complete
51 percent of the aircraft.
The FAA awarded two type certificates
for two aircraft, after finding that the
owners completed more than 60 percent
of each aircraft. The aircraft costs $1.9
million fully completed, with interior, avionics,
engine, and paint. Six Epic turboprops
remain in various states of construction
in the factory. There are 32 of the aircraft
now flying. Four of the aircraft in the factory
are for sale. The economic recession
caused their former owners to withdraw
from the purchase.
Although widely reported as a company
that was sold to China, company official
Daryl Ingalsbe said that is not correct.
Under a complicated court agreement, the
company was retained by Ingalsbe and
co-owners, but they were required to sell
CAD drawings and software to the Chinese
for building Epic aircraft. The sale of that
data, with those rights, amounted to $1
million. China aviation officials can market
Epic in all countries except the United
States and its territories.
Ingalsbe said numerous changes were
made to the airframe by the new owners,
resulting in a 30-knot increase in true
airspeed. He reports 320 KTAS for his
aircraft when cruising at 28,000 feet. At
that altitude, the pressurized aircraft cabin
is at 6,500 feet. It burns 52 gallons per
hour at 28,000 feet, and has a payload of
1,600 pounds when fully fueled.
AOPA PILOT • 41 • JUNE 2011
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2011

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