German manufacturer Flight Design plans to assemble its new C4 piston single in Germany, the USA and Taiwan.

Aircraft built in the US will be sold domestically, while the Taiwanese-built machines will be sold in Asia, says Flight Design chief executive Matthias Betsch. Having the aircraft assembled close to their markets will help speed up deliveries, he says. The company is also teaming up with Garmin to offer the aircraft's avionics suite, Betsch adds, but the details will not be released until next year.

The four-seat C4, which is an all carbon composite four-seat design, will undergo publicly funded crash testing in Germany, says Flight Design's technical director, Oliver Reinhardt. That data will be shared with other manufacturers.

Another key feature is the aircraft's Continental IO-360AF engine, which combined with the C4's fuel capacity, should yield a range of 1,200nm (2,220km).

Source: Flight International