Ibis Aerospace has successfully completed the maiden flight of its second production Ae270 Propjet, from the test facilities of Aero Vodochody near Prague, Czech Republic.

The flight lasted an hour and a half, as chief of flight test Petr Holasek joined veteran Aero test pilots Ladislav Snydr and Petr Sindelar to test the functionality of

engine operation, wing flaps and landing gear.

Jeff Conrad, vp of marketing, commented: “Aero is continuing its production of the Ae270 as planned. As we near certification, the excitement builds at the factories in Europe, the US and in our Asia-Pacific markets. Customer anticipation is high for the aircraft and we expect to satisfy their demand with a robust, first-class product.”

The Ae270 flight test fleet comprises five aircraft: serial numbers one, three, five, six and seven. Serial numbers two and four are dynamic and static test articles and number six is undergoing certification for an executive interior at Southstar Interiors in

Uvalde, Texas.

Meanwhile, Ibis has appointed a distributor for the Ae270 in the UK and Ireland. Air Touring will be responsible for the operation, maintenance, sales, training and customer service for the aircraft

to operators.

Karel Sovak, European area sales director for Ibis, said: “I am personally pleased with the appointment. Air Touring is a highly professional organisation and an exciting addition to our sales and support network.”

Ceo of Air Touring, Michael Pearce, commented: “The addition of the Ae270 to the already well-established TBM 700 will make Air Touring the number one turboprop distributor in the region.”

The appointment adds to Air Touring’s current distributorship, which includes an exclusive deal with French manufacturer EADS Socata.

The Ae270 Propjet is designed to carry ten people and will cover stage lengths of up to 1,544 nautical miles with fuel reserves.