Adam Aircraft has received US type inspection authorisation for its A500 all-composite piston twin, paving the way for final type certification this quarter, says the Englewood, Colorado-based developer. The authorisation is issued when the examination of technical data required for type certification is complete and demonstrates the aircraft has, or will, meet pertinent regulations for the issue of the type certificate. Adam has built and flown three aircraft and has accumulated over 1,000h of flight testing. "The A500 will be the first pressurised piston twin to achieve type certification in almost 30 years," says Adam Aircraft chief executive Rick Adam. He says the company has an order backlog of almost two years and 65 aircraft, with "several A500s" being built for customer delivery this year. Certification of the A500 was originally scheduled for mid-2003.
Source: Flight International