Number 500 Gets Paparazzi Treatment

Aero-News has learned Columbia Aircraft has its 500th plane now on the assembly line... and to pique your interest, you can keep an eye on its journey in the process of becoming an airplane, in almost real-time.

Columbia has been in the news lately due to it being selected as the plane of choice in Eric Lindbergh's new aero-club, iFly. The 310 hp aircraft has a range of 1300nm and the turbocharged Columbia 400 can reach Flight Level 25 and a speed of 235 kts.

Once plane number 500 reaches station twelve in the assembly line, Columbia will issue daily updates. It also plans to create a time-lapse photography video to show how the aircraft comes together.

So far, we've seen it go through the initial fabric cuts, the fuselage bond, and painting. Still to go are attaching the wing and the tail, installing the engine, and of course, the flight test.

Columbia hasn't revealed whether the aircraft will be the standard aspirated 350 or the turbo 400. You're just going to have to keep checking the website.

If you want to check out the progress of number 500 on the Columbia line, just click below on ANN's "For More Information" (FMI) line. 

FMI: www.flycolumbia.com/500thcolumbia