Epic Aircraft launched a pair of turbine twins on the opening day of the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland, Florida, April 21. Despite the current economic climate, Rick Schrameck, CEO of the Bend, Oregon company, insisted that this is “just the time to invest” in developing aircraft
The Elegance turboprop twin and Genesis twinjet share the same fuselage as the company’s much-admired eight-seat Dynasty turboprop single. However, the Elegance is stretched for 10 seats while the Genesis can accommodate six.
Schrameck said that the Genesis is expected to have a top cruise speed of 395 knots and maximum VFR range of 1,260 nm. The Elegance will provide a maximum cruise speed of 419 knots and a maximum VFR range of 1,700 nm, he said.
Schrameck called the $5 million Elegance “the next generation King Air 350.” He said the $2.2 million Genesis is “an Eclipse 500 killer,” perhaps forgetting that Eclipse pretty much committed suicide last year.
First flight of the new twinjet is expected by year-end; the Elegance turboprop twin is slated to fly by July next year. Skeptics should recall that Schrameck has a justly-earned reputation for delivering on such predictions. He did not announce certification dates, instead commenting that he’ll let the market decide which gets certified first.
Updating progress on the $1.95 million Dynasty, Schrameck said that flight testing is continuing and certification is expected “no later than 16 months from now.”
Epic now offers nine turbine aircraft models, including its currently available build-it-yourself (with help from Epic) kits and those undergoing certification procedures.
For information: www.epicaircraft.com
