Italian planemaker Vulcanair says it will begin deliveries from its new manufacturing plant in North Carolina in 2025. Spokesman Mike McMann said the company is also building a parts distribution warehouse at the Elizabethtown complex. At a news conference at Sun ‘n Fun last week, McMann also announced the sale of five of the four-place aircraft to Aviation Flight Group LLC, which will be delivered by the end of the year. Deliveries have been made to Central Texas College, too. A nationwide network of parts and service centers is also being set up.
The aircraft is going primarily to flight schools. Although it’s similar in size and appearance to a Cessna 172, it’s at least $100,000 less expensive and delivery schedules are much shorter. The company says there’s an annual shortfall of 500 training aircraft worldwide and that has resulted in three- and four-year backlogs at Textron and Piper. As part of its North American expansion, Vulcanair has put together a maintenance video to familiarize service companies with the aircraft. It’s powered by a Lycoming IO-360-M1A and has an IFR panel with a Garmin G500 Txi coupled with a GTN 650.
