Flight Design gave an update on its anticipated C4 certified airplane at EAA AirVenture this week. The proof of concept prototype of the four-seat high-wing model made its first flight this spring, but the first of three conforming prototypes has not yet been completed. Flight Design said its EASA certification target has been pushed to next summer.
The C4 was designed with the rewrite of the Part 23 certification rules in mind, a process that is expected to streamline and simplify EASA, FAA and ASTM certification rules for general aviation airplanes, rules that have not yet been finalized. The avionics suite, named Flight Design Vision Touch, melds two of Garmin's G3X touch screens, designed for the experimental market, with a GTN 750 navigator. As such, the panel does not qualify for the current Part 23 certification rules.
The C4 will be powered by a 180 hp Continental IO-360-AF engine spinning a Hartzell propeller. The engine was FAA type certified earlier this year, has a TBO of 2,200 hours and is approved for use with 100 LL and 91 UL fuels (the AF stands for alternative fuel).
Based on numbers collected through several test flights with the proof-of-concept airplane, the C4 is expected to cruise at around 145 knots. So far, the airplane has been flown at 2,640 lbs where it has shown stall speeds around 54 knots.
Flight Design's chairman, president and CEO Matthias Betsch said the company has taken approximately 100 deposits for the airplane.
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