Gippsland Aeronautics
Encyclopedia
Gippsland Aeronautics are an Australia
n aircraft
manufacturer based at Latrobe Valley Airport
in Morwell, Victoria
. The company builds single-engined utility aircraft
. These include the GA8 Airvan
and the GA200 Fatman
. The company is owned by Indian conglomerate Mahindra Group
. The company is constructing another construction plant in Bangalore
in India
.
Australia, as well as local commercial operators.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Peter Furlong and John Brown were pilots, builders, fabricators and maintenance personnel for, amongst others, the Latrobe Valley Aircraft Club, and the Ultra Light Club of Australia (LV Division).
The late John "Brownie" Brown was a builder of timber aircraft. Brownie was involved with the 2nd airframe of the Australian designed Corby Starlet
in the mid-1960s. He later built the first Australian example of the Volmer Sportsman amphibian aircraft (VH-TUB).
Brownie and Pete continued to service aircraft together until the mid-1980s when Brownie was diagnosed with cancer.
s in the mid-1980s to the point where it was decided to certify a new design.
In 1991, Gippsland Aeronautics' first indigenous design, the GA200 Fatman, achieved Australian airworthiness certification. The certified production GA200 Fatman (also referred to unofficially as the GA200B) had a lifting capacity of 800 Litres with a 250 hp engine.
In 1993, the company certified a new model, the GA200C Fatman with the capability of lifting one tonne (1050 Litres) with a 300 hp engine, giving the aircraft a 30-50% better performance than any aircraft in its class. In the late 1990s, Fatman production was scaled down to make way for the Airvan.
. Recognising the Cessna 206 as "one of the world’s best workhorses", the pair saw the potential niche market for a piston-engine aircraft that could carry more passengers. This would improve the operators’ profitability without going to the expense of purchasing a turbine powered aircraft.
Thus the high wing, eight seat GA8 Airvan was born using the design of the GA200C as a basis. Certification commenced in 1993 with the building of the first prototype/proof of concept aircraft.
After eight years in development, the GA8 Airvan was type-certificated by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority
to FAR 23 Amendment 48 requirements in December 2000 and subsequently updated to Amendment 54 status in early 2003. This was followed by certification by the United States Federal Aviation Administration
and the Canadian Transport Canada
in the same year. The European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) certificated the Airvan in 2005.
The GA8 Airvan has now achieved export sales in the UK, Holland, Germany, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho, USA, Canada and Belize in Central America, in addition to in-country sales in Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
In October 2006, Gippsland Aeronautics announced that "the turbocharged prototype aircraft has commenced flight testing. The chosen engine is the Lycoming TIO 540 AH1A engine, which is a turbocharged version of the currently installed normally aspirated engine."
of India Acquired 75.1% majority stake.
On 18 June 2008, Gippsland Aeronautics announced they had won bidding to take over the type certificate of the GAF Nomad
, and would probably be restarting production. The twin-engined, 18-seat reborn Nomad will be called the GA18
, and will be re-engineered with new engines, propellers, glass cockpit and weight-saving measures. It is planned to bring it into service after the development and certification of the new 10-seat GA10
.
In March 2011, at the 2011 Australian International Airshow, GippsAero announced the GA10
. A development of the 8-seat GA8 Airvan
piston-engined aircraft, the GA10 design has been stretched and re-engined with a turboprop
engine to increase seating and payload capacity. It is planned for its first flight to take place in October 2011 and be ready for service in March 2013.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n aircraft
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
manufacturer based at Latrobe Valley Airport
Latrobe Valley Airport
Latrobe Valley Airport is located in the Latrobe Valley town of Morwell, Victoria, Australia. The airport is about 2 hours east of Melbourne, off Princes Highway, to the west of Traralgon....
in Morwell, Victoria
Morwell, Victoria
-Transport:The main form of transport in Morwell is the automobile. The Princes Freeway now bypasses the town to the south while the old Princes Highway which once passed through east-west through its centre is now Princes Drive and Commercial Road. The highway connects Morwell with other...
. The company builds single-engined utility aircraft
Utility aircraft
A utility aircraft is a general-purpose light plane or helicopter, usually used for transporting people or freight, but also for other duties when a more specialised aircraft is not required or available....
. These include the GA8 Airvan
Gippsland GA8
The Gippsland GA8 Airvan is a single-engined utility aircraft manufactured by Gippsland Aeronautics of Victoria, Australia. It can seat eight including one pilot.-Development:...
and the GA200 Fatman
Gippsland GA200
-External links:* *...
. The company is owned by Indian conglomerate Mahindra Group
Mahindra Group
The Mahindra Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered at Mahindra Towers in Mumbai, India, with operations in over 100 countries across the globe...
. The company is constructing another construction plant in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
History
Gippsland Aeronautics was founded by Peter Furlong and George Morgan. The company started operations at the Latrobe Regional Airport in Morwell in the 1970s as an aircraft maintenance and modification business working for large organisations such as the National Safety Council of Australia and EssoEsso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
Australia, as well as local commercial operators.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Peter Furlong and John Brown were pilots, builders, fabricators and maintenance personnel for, amongst others, the Latrobe Valley Aircraft Club, and the Ultra Light Club of Australia (LV Division).
The late John "Brownie" Brown was a builder of timber aircraft. Brownie was involved with the 2nd airframe of the Australian designed Corby Starlet
Corby Starlet
-External links:* * -See also:...
in the mid-1960s. He later built the first Australian example of the Volmer Sportsman amphibian aircraft (VH-TUB).
Brownie and Pete continued to service aircraft together until the mid-1980s when Brownie was diagnosed with cancer.
The First Design - GA200 Fatman
The modification of agricultural aircraft to improve capability and safety marked the beginnings of Gippsland Aeronautics' aircraft design and manufacturing business as it stands today. The company increasingly modified five agricultural Piper PA-25 PawneePiper PA-25 Pawnee
The PA-25 Pawnee was an agricultural aircraft produced by Piper Aircraft between 1959 and 1982. It remains a widely used aircraft in agricultural spraying and is also used as a tow plane, or tug, for launching gliders or for towing banners. On April 15, 1998, The New Piper Aircraft, Inc....
s in the mid-1980s to the point where it was decided to certify a new design.
In 1991, Gippsland Aeronautics' first indigenous design, the GA200 Fatman, achieved Australian airworthiness certification. The certified production GA200 Fatman (also referred to unofficially as the GA200B) had a lifting capacity of 800 Litres with a 250 hp engine.
In 1993, the company certified a new model, the GA200C Fatman with the capability of lifting one tonne (1050 Litres) with a 300 hp engine, giving the aircraft a 30-50% better performance than any aircraft in its class. In the late 1990s, Fatman production was scaled down to make way for the Airvan.
The GA8 Airvan
Despite the success of the Fatman variants, profitability was too dependent on the roller coaster cycles of the agricultural industry world wide. Subsequently, Gippsland Aeronautics' second new design, the GA8 Airvan, was conceived by directors/designers Furlong and Morgan as a utility transport to replace the Cessna 206/207 and DHC BeaverDe Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...
. Recognising the Cessna 206 as "one of the world’s best workhorses", the pair saw the potential niche market for a piston-engine aircraft that could carry more passengers. This would improve the operators’ profitability without going to the expense of purchasing a turbine powered aircraft.
Thus the high wing, eight seat GA8 Airvan was born using the design of the GA200C as a basis. Certification commenced in 1993 with the building of the first prototype/proof of concept aircraft.
After eight years in development, the GA8 Airvan was type-certificated by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is the Australian national aviation authority , the government statutory authority responsible for the regulation of civil aviation.-History:...
to FAR 23 Amendment 48 requirements in December 2000 and subsequently updated to Amendment 54 status in early 2003. This was followed by certification by the United States Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
and the Canadian Transport Canada
Transport Canada
Transport Canada is the department within the government of Canada which is responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio...
in the same year. The European Aviation Safety Agency
European Aviation Safety Agency
The European Aviation Safety Agency is an agency of the European Union with offices in Cologne, Germany, which has been given regulatory and executive tasks in the field of civilian aviation safety. It was created on 15 July 2002, and it reached full functionality in 2008, taking over functions...
(EASA) certificated the Airvan in 2005.
The GA8 Airvan has now achieved export sales in the UK, Holland, Germany, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho, USA, Canada and Belize in Central America, in addition to in-country sales in Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
In October 2006, Gippsland Aeronautics announced that "the turbocharged prototype aircraft has commenced flight testing. The chosen engine is the Lycoming TIO 540 AH1A engine, which is a turbocharged version of the currently installed normally aspirated engine."
New Developments
In December 2009, Mahindra Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. (MAPL), belonging to Mahindra GroupMahindra Group
The Mahindra Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered at Mahindra Towers in Mumbai, India, with operations in over 100 countries across the globe...
of India Acquired 75.1% majority stake.
On 18 June 2008, Gippsland Aeronautics announced they had won bidding to take over the type certificate of the GAF Nomad
GAF Nomad
The GAF Nomad is a twin-engine turboprop, high-winged, "short take off and landing" aircraft . It was designed and built by the Australian Government Aircraft Factories at Fishermens Bend, Melbourne. Major users of the design have included the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, the...
, and would probably be restarting production. The twin-engined, 18-seat reborn Nomad will be called the GA18
GAF Nomad
The GAF Nomad is a twin-engine turboprop, high-winged, "short take off and landing" aircraft . It was designed and built by the Australian Government Aircraft Factories at Fishermens Bend, Melbourne. Major users of the design have included the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, the...
, and will be re-engineered with new engines, propellers, glass cockpit and weight-saving measures. It is planned to bring it into service after the development and certification of the new 10-seat GA10
Gippsland GA10
-See also:-External links:*...
.
In March 2011, at the 2011 Australian International Airshow, GippsAero announced the GA10
Gippsland GA10
-See also:-External links:*...
. A development of the 8-seat GA8 Airvan
Gippsland GA8
The Gippsland GA8 Airvan is a single-engined utility aircraft manufactured by Gippsland Aeronautics of Victoria, Australia. It can seat eight including one pilot.-Development:...
piston-engined aircraft, the GA10 design has been stretched and re-engined with a turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
engine to increase seating and payload capacity. It is planned for its first flight to take place in October 2011 and be ready for service in March 2013.
Time Line for Gippsland Aeronautics
- 1977 - Peter Furlong starts Gippsland Aeronautics as an aircraft maintenance and modification business.
- 1984 - George Morgan joins Peter Furlong to form Gippsland Aeronautics Pty Ltd as an incorporated entity
- 1985 to 1991 - Gippsland Aeronautics develops the GA200 agricultural aircraft following approaches by local aircraft operators to design an agricultural aircraft with better lifting and handling capabilities than other available aircraft.
- 1991 - The GA200C Fatman is Type Certificated by the Australian Civil Aviation Authority.
- 1993 - The company commences design work on a new aircraft designated the GA8 that will fill a market niche between the six-seater Cessna 206 and the ten-seater Cessna CaravanCessna 208The Cessna 208 Caravan is a single turboprop engine, fixed-gear short-haul regional airliner and utility aircraft built in the United States by Cessna. The airplane typically seats nine passengers, with a single person crew, although with a FAR Part 23 waiver, it can seat up to fourteen passengers...
.
- 1995 - The "proof of concept" GA8 Airvan makes its first flight in March 1995 and attends the Australian International Airshow at Avalon.
- 1996 - The prototype GA8 Airvan makes its first flight August 1996. The Airvan then undergoes a major flight testing and development program.
- 2000 - Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority certificates the GA8 Airvan to FAR 23 Amendment 48.
- 2001 - In December, the first export Airvan is delivered to Maya Island Air in Belize, Central America.
- 2002 - The US Civil Air PatrolCivil Air PatrolCivil Air Patrol is a Congressionally chartered, federally supported, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force . CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded membership that includes people from all backgrounds, lifestyles, and...
appoints Gippsland Aeronautics to supply Airvans, making the CAP the first American organisation to own and fly the Airvan - and the largest fleet owner of the Australian GA8 worldwide.
- 2003 - Airvan gains Type Certification in Canada with Avalon Aircraft Corporation of Richmond B.C appointed as the Canadian representative - then US FAA grants type certification.
- 2004 - First Airvan is delivered to a Canadian operator, Wings Over Wilderness.
- Cargo Pod for Airvan certified by Australian Civil Aviation Authority.
- 2005 - The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certifies the GA8 Airvan.
- 2005 - Gippsland Aeronautics Airvan airframe #100 rolled out in September 2006. The completion of 100 Airvans is considered to be a significant milestone in Australian aircraft manufacturing. Only two other manufacturers of Australian civil aircraft have built more than 100 aircraft in the post-WW2 era. The others being the Victa Airtourer (168) and the Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) with 170 twin-engined N22 & N24 NomadsGAF NomadThe GAF Nomad is a twin-engine turboprop, high-winged, "short take off and landing" aircraft . It was designed and built by the Australian Government Aircraft Factories at Fishermens Bend, Melbourne. Major users of the design have included the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, the...
.
- 2007 - February, Gippsland Aeronautics has built 110 GA8 Airvans and 50 GA200 Fatmans.
- 2009 - December, Mahindra Aerospace|Mahindra Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. (MAPL), belonging to Mahindra GroupMahindra GroupThe Mahindra Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered at Mahindra Towers in Mumbai, India, with operations in over 100 countries across the globe...
of India, buys 75.1% majority stake.
Products
- Gippsland GA200Gippsland GA200-External links:* *...
- Gippsland GA8Gippsland GA8The Gippsland GA8 Airvan is a single-engined utility aircraft manufactured by Gippsland Aeronautics of Victoria, Australia. It can seat eight including one pilot.-Development:...
Airvan - Gippsland GA10Gippsland GA10-See also:-External links:*...
Airvan - Gippsland GA18GAF NomadThe GAF Nomad is a twin-engine turboprop, high-winged, "short take off and landing" aircraft . It was designed and built by the Australian Government Aircraft Factories at Fishermens Bend, Melbourne. Major users of the design have included the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, the...