The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certified Extra Aircraft’s EA-500, which company officials say will set a new standard in the single-engine turboprop high-performance cabin class.

The EA-500 becomes the seventh Extra Aircraft certified in the past 15 years.

“We have created an aircraft that has the perfect balance of power and weight, achieving unprecedented range and endurance in this class,” said Ken Keith, Extra Aircraft ceo. “We are confident this combination will allow for more economical trips, making the EA-500 the new standard for touring aircraft.”

Company officials say that certification of the EA-500 by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is pending. Once certification is complete, Extra will be ready to begin production in Germany, with plans for the first aircraft to be finished in December.

Keith says it is the combination of the Rolls-Royce 250 turboprop engine and the all-carbon-fibre composite airframe that makes for excellent cost-efficiency.

“We are very proud of this aircraft,” said Walter Extra, founder and chief engineer. “Our team has spent thousands of hours methodically applying scientific and mathematical principles to design an aircraft that rivals every other aircraft in this class.”

A six-seat, touring aircraft, the EA-500 was specifically designed to be powered by the Rolls-Royce 250-B17F/2 turboprop engine.

The aircraft will also feature Honeywell’s APEX fully integrated cockpit as the standard avionics package for the EA-500, beginning in 2006.\r

Keith estimates that Extra Aircraft currently has the capacity to produce 60 EA-500s per year. Orders for the next year have already been filled. The EA-500 will currently be sold factory-direct through a network of factory-authorised representatives in North America and Europe.

Founded in the 1980s, Extra Aircraft is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with a manufacturing plant in Germany.