Ibis Aerospace has established its owners’ warranty policy for the Ae270: Five years or 2,500 hours on airframe and engine components.

The propjet’s Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A engine already has an established service network worldwide; the airframe structural components will be guaranteed by Ibis. Other components such as paint, avionics, the propeller, the interior and vendor components will be protected up to two years or 1,000 hours. Clint Johnson, product support manager, will oversee the support programme.

Jeff Conrad, director of marketing, said: “Ibis is committed to implementing a superior global support system to enhance flight operations and ownership value.”

The Ae270 is a large-cabin transport aeroplane originally developed by Aero, and being completed with the help of AIDC. Ibis is the name of the joint venture company set up by the partners.

According to Conrad, the company is on schedule to certify the Ae270 in the first quarter of 2002: “The first prototype continues to fly in Prague, weather permitting – it’s not really the season for it right

now. We have approximately 50 hours on that airframe now, everything is going fine.

“We have been through all of the static and frequency testing satisfactorily, the aeroplane has no surprises,” he said.

Serial three, the ‘P’ model, is scheduled to enter flight tests in May, when it will be used with number one to accelerate the flight schedule. Serial number four is looking like an aeroplane, reports Conrad: A life cycle test article, it is due to be finished in May also, and will be jig mounted in the company’s Czechoslovakian research institute.

“Serial number five will be the Ae270 HP. The advantage with this variant is that you can take 850

shaft horsepower to a higher altitude, giving a maximum cruise speed of 260 knots. That will be certified six months after the P model,” reports Conrad.

Full production of the Ae270 will begin in the second half of 2002, mostly the P model, with a handful

of HPs being built in the first quarter of 2003. Ibis Aerospace will aim at producing 12 aeroplanes in 2002, 24 in 2003 and 36 in 2004, according to Conrad.