No Engines, No Company; Davis And Moon Fold

After a year of trying, Roy Davis and Nancy Moon say they have nothing more to give. The company they purchased almost a year ago is going under.

This letter was posted on their website:

September 13, 2004

Express Aircraft Company, LLC

To Whom It May Concern:

Nancy and I bought Express Aircraft Company, LLC (EAC), a Washington limited liability company, on October 26, 2003 on short notice because it was obvious the company needed management and an infusion of cash to continue business. We wanted the employees of EAC to retain their jobs and we did not want to lose the fine aircraft the Express has become.

One of the major reasons for building an experimental aircraft like the Express is so that the latest technology can be included. The Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) Continental IOF-550 was planned when we bought our kit in January 2003. All other customers since then also purchased their kit with the FADEC engine planned and orders were accepted by the manufacturer since June 2003.

We thought we were on solid ground selecting the IOF-550 engine as a major aviation engine manufacturer has advertised it since 2001 as being available for experimental aircraft and certified for some production aircraft. The same 2001 brochure was being distributed at the Oshkosh air show a month ago. We were assured face-to-face at the air show that the deliveries were on for September. The September 2004 issue of AOPA Pilot magazine carries a full-page ad for Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM) FADEC engines showing a Bonanza in flight and says FADEC is available for the Bonanza and experimental aircraft. The Bonanza uses a similar IOF-550 EAC is trying to obtain.

TCM kept delaying shipments a month at a time since January 2004. Finally in July they claimed that all technical issues had been solved and that it would take until September 2nd to finish the certification testing and ship our engines. We planned on this date and committed all our resources to getting parts in house and the many aircraft projects ready for the arrival of the engines. Since these engines cost more than our airframe kits they have a huge impact on our cash flow.

Recently we were told by TCM that the engines would not be available for some time. On further inquiry by us, we were told they do not have a schedule for release of the product. Since TCM is a certified house they will not even release an experimental version of the engines.

This reversal by TCM has put EAC in an impossible situation. The loss of cash flow from the FADEC engines means we cannot meet our obligations to our employees, landlords or our vendors. The lack of a FADEC equipped show plane this summer has resulted in very weak sales, so business going forward is not something we can bank on.

Nancy and I have invested heavily in EAC, putting significant personal funds into the company right up until a few weeks ago. We believed we were going forward. With this development we now realize that we have no choice but to dissolve EAC as of this date and notice.

Aircraft projects and the parts associated with them will be shipped to the respective owners unless other arrangements are made. The shipping costs must be prepaid or COD.

All EAC property will be liquidated and the proceeds put into a fund along with any receivables. We must by law adhere to a strict order when dispersing the company funds. Employees will be paid first, followed by taxes, secured debt, unsecured debt, and finally investors.

This is a blow to us. I gave up a good job to help out EAC, we spent our retirement savings and we gave up the parts of our almost completed aircraft project to get other customer’s projects finished.

We are sorry to disappoint you.

Roy Davis, Member
Nancy Moon, Member

FMI: www.expressaircraft.com