In The Works: Comp Air - CA-12, CA-9

By: Matt Thurber

September 1, 2009
Aircraft

Comp Air is still planning to certify its single-engine turboprop CA-12, but has not yet formally applied to the FAA for a type certificate. “We’re waiting for everything to be in place before we apply,” said COO Bill Fedorko. The company is not yet taking deposits on the CA-12, he added. “We don’t just want to take investors’ money; we’re not going to be a statistic,” he said, referring to the fate of bankrupt Eclipse Aviation and Adam Aircraft or shuttered Epic Aircraft. “They took a lot of investors’ money, and they were wrong, wrong, wrong.”

The Comp Air-12 is now scheduled for FAA certification by the first quarter of 2012. Before the end of the year, Comp Air plans to move into new facilities in Melbourne, Fla. Meanwhile, the company has selected Honeywell’s Primus Apex avionics suite for the CA-12. The big CA-12 is expected to compete with Pilatus Aircraft’s best-selling PC-12, which has thus far had no serious competitor. Powered by a 1,650-shp Honeywell TPE331-14GR, the CA-12 will seat 10 people and offer maximum range of 2,535 nm and a high-speed cruise of 310 ktas.

In other Comp Air news, the company’s CA-9 fixed-gear, high-wing, single-engine turboprop prototype has flown about 300 hours and reached its targeted 250-knot cruise speed, according to Fedorko. Both the CA-9 and CA-12 prototypes will be on display at next month’s NBAA Convention.

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