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Aviation History
1994
1994 - 0068.PDF
GENERAL AVIATION Piper bidder would build new aircraft BY GRAHAM WARWICK 7.V ATLANTA Piper Aircraft is planning its first all-new aircraft since the Malibu was introduced in 1983. The aircraft, which the company hopes to launch in 1994, will replace the Arrow/ Dakota series of four-seat, re tractable-gear, piston singles. Further details of the new aircraft, and planned improve ments to the Warrior/Archer series and the Malibu Mirage, are expected to be released after Piper emerges from Chap ter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company expects to come out of bankruptcy by May 1994 following a $35 million asset- purchase agreement signed with Vero Holdings at the end of 1993 (Flight International, 5-11 January). Vero Holdings has been formed by private investment firm Dimeling, Schreiber and Park to purchase virtually all of Piper's assets. The Philadel phia, Pennsylvania-based com pany specialises in buying manufacturing companies out of Chapter 11. Vero Holdings plans to retain the Piper name, management, employees and distributor network and to continue operations in Vero Beach, Florida. Pilatus Aircraft's letter of in tent to purchase Piper's assets was rejected by Piper's credi tors' committee when it real ised that most of the $43 million purchase price would go to a trust fund which was to be established to meet product- liability claims (Flight Interna tional, 15-21 September, 1993). The bankruptcy court subse quently ruled that Piper could emerge from Chapter 11 free of liability for aircraft built up to that time. Although this is likely to be tested in the courts, Piper admits, the ruling freed prospective purchasers from the need to provide funds to cover product-liability claims. Vero Holdings' asset-pur chase agreement, which con sists of $22 million in cash and $13 million in assumed liabili ties, has the approval of Piper's creditors' committee, the com pany says. "The agreement is uncomplicated and provides for a monetary value beneficial to Piper's creditors," says Piper president Charles Suma. Piper's re-organisation plan will be presented to the court this month, leading to a confirm ation hearing within 90 to 120 days. If the plan is confirmed, the company will emerge from Chapter 11. Other parties will be allowed to bid for Piper's assets at the hearing, however, with bids to be submitted in $500,000 increments, the man ufacturer says. Vero Holdings plans to ex pand Piper's operations, begin ning with the launch of an improved four-seat, fixed-gear Warrior III in July, aimed at the flight-training market. An improved Malibu Mirage high- performance piston single and launch of the Arrow/Dakota replacement would follow. D Commander pursues foreign sales Commander Aircraft has ap-1 i pointed 35 authorised sales and service representatives under an initiative launched in 1993 to establish a worldwide marketing and support network for the Commander 114B four- seat piston single. The Bethany, Oklahoma- based company announced the appointment of nine represen tatives in December, including seven in the USA and one each in Australia and Switzerland. Commander has seven interna tional sales and service repre sentatives, plus two dealerships — one in Germany and one in the Netherlands — and a UK office where demonstrator air craft are based. The company is negotiating contracts with a further ten international representatives, says president Herbert Franck. An agreement has been signed to establish a Middle East deal ership, Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Commander — a new company which also plans to establish a flight school equipped with several 114Bs, he says. Franck sees a "tremendous opportunity" in the interna tional marketplace and is pur suing contracts with flight schools and other organisations requiring fleets of aircraft. DRAGON FLOWN TO FRANCE Dragon Fly of Cucciago, Italy, has delivered its first two production "micro-light" helicopters to Etudes Developpmentes Techniques of Meaux, Paris, for research and development work. The Dragon Fly is now entering series production and the company claims some 25 orders. Geicorp of Brazil has joined Tradair of France as the second in a distributor network now being established. Commander will exhibit at Asian Aerospace in Singapore in February for the first time in a bid to sign up Far Eastern sales and service representa tives, he says. The company plans to pro duce 42 aircraft in 1994, up from 38 in 1993, with the additional four aircraft planned to be the first turbocharged H4TCs. The turbocharged air craft is scheduled to fly for the first time later this year. Q Raisbeck delivers kits to Norway Raisbeck Engineering has delivered short-field per formance-enhancement kits to Beechcraft-Scandinavia for in stallation on seven Super King Air B200s destined for Nor way's state-supported air- ambulance service. The Raisbeck Mini-Kits — comprising Harlzell/Raisbeck Quiet Turbofan four-blade pro pellers, inlet ram-air recovery system, composite inboard- wing leading-edges, and dual aft-body strakes — were in stalled on the factory-fresh King Airs by Beechcraft-Scandi- navia's Danish subsidiary, Busi ness Flight Services. Beechcraft-Scandinavia man aging director Michael Burgess says that the sale to Norway "...could not have been com pleted without the additional capability the Raisbeck systems have added to the King Air". The Norwegian air-ambulance aircraft are required to be oper ated from runways as short as 800m (2,600ft). Maximum-gross-weight take off and landing distances with the Raisbeck modifications are 685m and 600m, respectively. Balanced field lengths are also reduced and cruise speed and climb rate are improved, Rais beck says. The order for seven Mini- Kits completed Raisbeck's best year ever for sales of King Air performance enhancements, the Seattle, Washington-based company says. More than 600 King Airs are now equipped with Raisbeck modifications. D IB FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 12 - 18 January. 1994
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