Cobalt Announces Thick Order Book for Co50 Valkyrie

San Francisco-based Cobalt Aircraft announced it has seen great success since the launch of the Co50 Valkyrie in November. The company claims it has received 81 orders for the sleek composite speedster, adding up to a backlog worth more than $50 million, and has received hundreds of inquiries for the single-engine turbocharged airplane, according to David Loury, founder and CEO of Cobalt Aircraft.

Loury said about two-thirds of the customers are based in the United States with the remainder spread around the world, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and Brazil.

About two-thirds of the preorders represent the experimental version -- the Valkyrie X. Loury expects to deliver the first one by the year-end or early next year. Cobalt will build the airplanes in batches of 10. At this time, the certification effort has been put on hold to focus on getting the first experimental airplanes out to the customers.

The speed of the Valkyrie is expected to top out at 260 knots. The all-composite airplane offers the largest canopy in the world with a 320-degree view, Cobalt says.

A $15,000 deposit is required for the $595,000 Valkyrie X and the $699,000 certified Valkyrie.