Press Release

Issued by Piper Aircraft.

January 9, 2014

Piper Aircraft has named Hebei Yuan'ao Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd. as the company's authorized dealer in China for sales of new Piper Mirage single-engine pressurized aircraft, as well as the Piper Archer TX and Seminole training aircraft.

“We welcome Hebei Yuan'ao Aircraft into the worldwide Piper family,” said Piper president and ceo Simon Caldecott. “As China opens up its airspace there will be many opportunities there for the sale of high-end, high-performance pistons. With its extensive aviation background, Hebei Yuan'ao Aircraft is well situated to take advantage of the anticipated growth in China of this segment as well as the burgeoning demand in China for Piper pilot training aircraft.”

The Piper Mirage is a single-engine pressurized piston that seats six with club seating. It is powered by the Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A 350hp engine and has a 213 KTAS / 394 km/h max cruise speed and a range of 1,343 nm / 2,491 km. It is equipped with the Garmin G1000 avionics suite.

The Piper Seminole is an advanced training aircraft with consistency and proven reliability in more than 20 years of service and hundreds of thousands of hours in flight school environments throughout the world. Students admire the airplane for its ability to teach advanced flight training maneuvers and procedures. Instructors appreciate the Piper Seminole's ability to teach these lessons in a safe and forgiving manner. Flight school owners appreciate the Piper Seminole's ability to keep students and instructors happy while increasing operating revenue. The Seminole is a twin-engine piston powered aircraft that seats four and is powered by two Lycoming L/O -360-A1H6 engines each generating 180 hp. Its cruising speed at 75 percent power is 162 KTAS / 300 km/h. Its range is 700 nm / 1,426 km. Standard equipment includes the Garmin G1000.

As a classroom, the Piper Archer provides everything needed to learn to fly safely. Standard instrumentation includes the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit system, a perfect mixture of low workload and high technology. Piper's specially created flight school interior, designed to withstand the rigors of flight training, is standard, and the option for factory-installed air conditioning adds to the Archer's appeal as a training aircraft. It is powered by the 180 hp Lycoming 0-360-A4M engine and offers 128 KTAS / 237 km/h cruise speed.

Hebei Yuanao Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd, is headquartered in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China and its factory is located in the “Aviation City” of Pingquan County, Chengde City, Hebei Province, China. It was established in 2012 and is the first private general aviation manufacturing company in Hebei Province.

Through solid cooperation with many famous companies and universities in China, such as AVIC Shijiazhuang Aircraft Industry Corporation Ltd. (for production and technical support), the Civil Aviation Flight University of China (for training) and Xi'an Aeronautical Polytechnic Institute (from which it is hiring talented graduates), and abroad with Piper Aircraft (Hebei Yuan'ao is the authorized sales dealer in China for the Mirage, Seminole and Archer), Hebei Yuan'ao has set up an integrated and professional support service system which includes aircraft reassembly, sales, maintenance, flight training and so on.