Extra Aircraft has chosen an exclusive distributor in Australia to introduce the Extra 500 Spirit to the Asia-Pacific market, the company said recently. Extra Aviation Australasia, based at Brisbane’s Archerfield Airport in Queensland, will provide sales and support for the six-seat, pressurized, carbon-fiber turboprop, with plans to provide a service center in each of Australia’s major cities. The 1,600-nm range of the aircraft and efficient fuel burn in the Rolls Royce engine make it a good fit for Australia’s wide expanses, said Moishe Gordon, of Extra Aviation Australasia. “Trips such as Melbourne to Perth or Brisbane to Darwin are possible and affordable,” he said. The company said demonstrator airplanes will be available in Australia by mid-2011.
Extra Aircraft, based in Germany, is best-known for its aerobatic aircraft. The company recently expanded to a site in Colorado, with plans to market the Spirit in the U.S. The Spirit is the first certified aircraft to feature Avidyne’s Entegra II R9 avionics system, the company says. The aircraft has been flying for over five years and is certified by EASA and the FAA.
