Discovery Aviation has launched production of its new and improved XL-2, nine months after the three-year-old company acquired the rights to the IFR-certificated piston single from its former owner, Liberty Aerospace.
The two-seat, low-wing type, which is based on the British-designed Europa kit plane, is being manufactured at Liberty’s former base in Melbourne, Florida. “So far we have around 20 orders for the XL-2,” says Discovery Aviation’s co-founder and chief executive, Rick Cunliffe. ‘We plan to deliver the first aircraft in May.”
The new-generation XL-2 features a redesigned interior and choice of Garmin flightdecks. It is powered by a Continental IOF-240B engine with full authority digital engine control (FADEC).
Cunliffe says the XL-2 is “proving popular” with flying schools and private owners. The key benefits, he suggests, “remain its low cost of acquisition [at around $240,000], operation and maintenance”.
“It is also one of the most technologically advanced training aircraft available,” Cunliffe adds.
Meanwhile, Discovery is hoping to secure US certification for its model 201 twin-engined utility aircraft in the second quarter. “We are almost there,” Cunliffe says. “We just have to complete dynamic seat testing. Once we have approval we will open the orderbook.”
Production of the high-wing type – an upgraded version of the 18-year-old Russian-designed Avia Accord 201 – will run alongside the XL-2 in Melbourne, but a second facility will be built if demand for both types is strong enough, Cunliffe adds.
“With its rugged, versatile design, short field capability, a price tag of under $1 million and seating for up to seven people, it will have widespread appeal across a range of markets, including passenger and cargo transport and parachute jumping,” he adds.
The Garmin glass cockpit-equipped, Continental IO-360ES7-powered 201 can be equipped with fixed landing gear or retractable floats, allowing it to operate from land or water.
Source: Flight International
