$1 Million Debt Too Much For Aircraft Manufacturer?

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Tiger Aircraft LLC has officially filed for bankruptcy in West Virginia, marking the end of a troubled journey.
  • The company's assets, including parts, tooling, and a valid type certificate for a proven aircraft design, are valued at over $3.26 million, significantly exceeding its debts of approximately $930,000.
  • The available assets represent an opportunity for a new entity to acquire what's needed to build a sporty, four-place, 180-hp airplane based on the established design.
  • Tiger Aircraft only produced a handful of planes since starting production in 2001, eventually facing layoffs and attempting to sell its buildings before filing for bankruptcy.
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Tiger Aircraft LLC ended a long and tortured journey to bankruptcy on Tuesday with a formal filing in West Virginia court. And, based on the company’s filing, almost everything (including a valid type certificate) needed to build a sporty airplane based on a proven design could be obtained for what amounts to chump change in most aerospace endeavors. Tiger’s filing says it owes its various creditors about $930,000 while its assets, including parts and tooling, total more than $3.26 million. In 1999 Tiger obtained the type certificate for the four-place, 180-hp low-wing airplane with the unique sliding canopy and started production in 2001 in Martinsburg, W. Va. The company built only a handful of aircraft and began laying off staff last year. By November, the company announced its buildings were for sale in a last-ditch attempt to raise capital.

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