Press Release

Issued by NZAero.

September 4, 2013

Pacific Aerospace Limited (PAL) has gained type acceptance for the P-750 XSTOL aircraft for Russia which paves the way for its Russian agent to deliver the first of thirty-seven P-750 XSTOLs to this promising market over the next five years.

Serial number XL186 is the first P-750 bound for Russia and the 85th of its type produced by PAL. It will be operated by the Parachute Training Centre skydive drop-zone in Moscow and will be delivered this month.

“Russia is an exciting market for us” said Damian Camp, ceo of PAL. “Capturing just a small fraction of the replacement market for the 17,000 pre-WWII Antonov AN2 biplanes produced in Russia would be a big deal for us” he said. “We'd love to be doing this on the back of a Russia-NZ free trade agreement but I guess we'll have to wait a bit longer for that.”

The 10-seat P-750 XSTOL is the world's best short take-off and landing single engine aircraft. It is operated in the most demanding conditions in places like Nepal, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Africa where reliability, low cost of operation and superior payload are critical. Needing just 720 feet (220m) to take off carrying a useful load of 4,200lbs (1,905kgs), which is more than its empty weight of 3,300lbs (1,497kgs), the P-750 XSTOL also has a superior range over its competitors of an impressive 1,179nm (2,183km).

The P-750 is used around the world for freight, passenger, aerial survey and surveillance, medevac, agriculture and skydiving operations. It is certified in 16 countries, including with FAA and EASA under FAR Part 23, and has also been certified against ICAO Annex 6 for Single Engine IFR Commercial Passenger Transport Operations. With the Russian approval coming hot on the heels of gaining Chinese type validation in in December, Pacific Aerospace is in the process of increasing its production rate.