Carter Aviation Technologies, of Wichita Falls, Texas, said this week it has created two new subsidiary companies to handle research, development, and manufacturing of its rotorcraft designs. “We are beginning a new phase in our corporate development,” company president Jay Carter Jr. said in a news release. “Moving from a research and development company into commercial production has required a great deal of investigation.” He said the company decided to move into manufacturing on its own after discussions with potential partners stalled. “Potential licensees were concerned about their staff being able to come up to speed quickly on the techniques and processes used in producing our designs,” Carter said. Carter Air Vehicles, the new manufacturing arm, will produce pre-production and initial production aircraft for the civilian market. “The future scope of our manufacturing will depend on demand for our aircraft,” Carter said. The other new subsidiary, Carter Aerospace Development, will handle research and development programs.
The company previously built a prototype technology-demonstrator aircraft and is now working to commercialize a four-place Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) design that was introduced last summer at AirVenture Oshkosh. The design incorporates a combination of rotorcraft and fixed-wing features, the company says, and builds on the lessons learned in seven years of flight-testing the original prototype. It features newly developed automated controls and systems.
