Sat, Jul 30, 2011
CEO Says Members Of Four EAA Chapters In Florida
Consulting
By Paul Plack
LoPresti Speed Merchants Friday announced a unique approach to
turning the Fury, which was designed to be a certified,
mass-produced airplane, back into a pile of parts for an eager kit
market.
LoPresti CEO RJ Siegel says the whole
kit idea sprang from the discovery that many Vans Aircraft owners
are "serial kit builders," and some had specifically requested a
Fury as their next kit. He tells ANN the company has enlisted the
help of four EAA Chapters in Florida to build one of the planes
from scratch, providing tips from those experienced builders along
the way on how it could be made more friendly to the homebuilder,
who may not have access to a 50-ton hydraulic press or high-end
machine equipment.
When the prototypes are done, the working group, dubbed, "Fury
Squadron," will get one of the first three completed kitplanes for
use in a flying club. Siegel says the tail is complete now.
LoPresti expects the kit to come to
market in laser-cut, pre-drilled form, requiring about 800 hours to
build. Siegel, who has a background with Apple, says instructions
are typically a weak point among current kits. The Fury will
combine a traditional manual with online assembly videos which
cater to visual and kinesthetic learners.
The tentative price for the kit is $160,000. Engine choices will be
the Lycoming O-360 or -390 running on gasoline, or the DeltaHawk
turbo-normalized, supercharged diesel. Look for first shipments in
late 2012.
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