Flight Design C4
C4 | |
---|---|
Flight Design C4 mockup in 2011 | |
Role | Light aircraft |
National origin | Germany |
Manufacturer | Flight Design |
First flight | 9 April 2015[1] |
Introduction | 2011 |
Status | Under development |
Developed from | Flight Design CTSW
|
The Flight Design C4 is a German four seat,
In February 2011 the company announced that it was developing a four-seat design. The C4 was introduced at the
The aircraft first flew on 9 April 2015.[1]
Development
The company applied to start
In writing about the aircraft's price goal, AVweb's Paul Bertorelli wrote: "here comes Flight Designs with a certified, four-place cruiser it proposes to sell for around $250,000. Why does it think it can do this with Diamond's DA40—a comparable proven and competent airplane—sells for around $350,000? One reason is that it builds airplanes in the Ukraine, where labor rates are lower. But another may be that it hasn't certified a four-place airplane in the current market and is doing what most airplane companies do: underestimating the cost of bringing a new airplane into production. I wish them the best, but I'd rather see a realistic price that builds in the most important thing any new airplane should have: Good value for the customer and profitability for the company building the airplane. It's never in the customer's interest to have the company losing money on every sale."[7]
At
At
At the end of March 2014 first flight was scheduled for June 2014 with certification forecast to be completed by the end of 2015. The target price of US$250,000 was still current as well.
In April 2015 the company announced that production of the type would be in the United States.[15]
The company entered receivership in 2016 and the development of the C4 was suspended at that time. The company was purchased in the summer of 2017 by the German company LiftAir. In January 2018, it was announced that the design for be updated to reflect the regulatory and technology changes that had occurred in the intervening eight years since the C4 was conceived and that production would result in up to six aircraft being produced per month in late 2018.[16]
Design
The aircraft is an all-composite design developed from the two-seat
Maximum cruise speed will be 296 km/h (160 kn) with the Continental engine and 269 km/h (145 kn) with the Thielert powerplant, although the latter will provide 3,151 km (1,701 nmi) range.[2][4]
Optional equipment will be available that will allow the aircraft to be used in the
Specifications (C4)
Data from AvWeb and Company fact Sheet[2][4][17]
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Capacity: three passengers
- Length: 7.876 m (25 ft 10 in)
- Wingspan: 9.930 m (32 ft 7 in)
- Height: 2.611 m (8 ft 7 in)
- Empty weight: 599 kg (1,320 lb)
- Gross weight: 1,197 kg (2,640 lb)
- Fuel capacity: 70 U.S. gallons (260 L; 58 imp gal)
- Powerplant: 1 × Continental IO-360-AF avgas and alternative fuels piston aircraft engine, 130 kW (180 hp)
- Propellers: 3-bladed composite constant speed propeller
Performance
- Cruise speed: 296 km/h (184 mph, 160 kn)
- Stall speed: 93 km/h (58 mph, 50 kn)
- Never exceed speed: 360 km/h (220 mph, 190 kn)
- Range: 3,150 km (1,960 mi, 1,200 nmi) at 65% power; 8.4 gal/hr (32 L/hr), 145 kt
- Endurance: 13:35 maximum
- Rate of climb: 5.0 m/s (980 ft/min)
Avionics
- Garmin G1000
- Dynon SkyView suite
- autopilot
- Traffic collision avoidance system and terrain awareness and warning system
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- Diamond DA40
References
- ^ a b c "First Flight For Flight Design C4". avweb.com. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f Pew, Glenn (April 2011). "New Four-Seater From Flight Design". AvWeb. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- ^ a b c d Grady, Mary (July 2011). "Flight Design Four-Place Mockup Oshkosh Debut". AvWeb. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Flight Design (April 2011). "C4 Fact Sheet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ a b Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 164. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
- ^ Pew, Glenn (February 2011). "Flight Design's Four Seater". AvWeb. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
- ^ Bertorelli, Paul (July 2011). "OSH Notebook". AVweb. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
- ^ Grady, Mary (August 2011). "Vendors Report Robust Sales At AirVenture". AVweb. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
- ^ Grady, Mary (27 March 2012). "Flight Design Moving Forward With New Projects". AVWev. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
- ^ Horne, Thomas A. (20 April 2012). "Flight Design's CTLS earns EASA certification". Aopa.org. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ Grady, Mary (9 April 2013). "Flight Design Pushes Back C4 Program". AVweb. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ^ Grady, Mary (31 March 2014). "Flight Design Four-Place Advances". AVweb. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ Berqvist, Pia (13 November 2014). "Flight Design's C4 Nears First Flight". Flying Magazine. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ Video of first flight, and interview
- ^ Niles, Russ (22 April 2015). "Flight Design C4 To Be Assembled In U.S." AVweb. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ AVweb Staff (25 January 2018). "Sport Expo: Flight Design Reviving The C4". AVweb. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
- ^ a b Thurber, Matt. "AirVenture Report: 2014" AINonline, 1 September 2014. Accessed: 4 September 2014.