Successor To Bush Hawk-XP Sports 315-HP Lycoming

Found Aircraft Canada was recently granted full type certification for the Expedition E350 by the FAA. The type certification includes both day and night Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) for the E350 tricycle gear aircraft, as well as the E350 with Aerocet 3400 and 3500L floats installed.

"Certification of the E350 is the culmination of over two years of development by our dedicated team of employees and suppliers who worked hard to make this day happen," says Drew Hamblin, Expedition Aircraft's Director of Marketing and Sales. "The Expedition was designed to be the true meaning of a high performance, flying SUV and the undisputed heavy-hauler in its class."

Introduced at AirVenture 2007, the Expedition E350 is a successor design to the Found Aircraft Bush Hawk-XP, last delivered in August 2007.

"The E350 was designed to be a hybrid combination of cross-country and STOL aircraft," said Hamblin. The versatile design is primarily aimed at commercial and Government operators, including the United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service.

The E350's combination of high full fuel payload of 962 pounds with seating for up to five, long range, high cruising speed, low STOL landing speeds plus rugged landing gear for landing on unprepared runways puts the airplane in at the top of it's class. With four doors, each opening 180 degrees, rear doors able to accommodate 55 gallon drums vertically or horizontally and quickly removable with quick release pins and a 52 inch wide cabin, the E350 is a highly unique and versatile aircraft. The E350's cabin is 50 inches high and almost 12 feet long.

The E350's 39-foot cantilever wing with vortex generators allows the aircraft to cruise at 156 KTAS at 8,000 feet, take off over a 50 foot obstacle in 1,286 feet and land over the same 50 foot obstacle in 1,378 feet -- all at gross weight. Sea level ROC is 1,091 FPM.

The aircraft utilizes a Lycoming IO-580 315-HP piston engine swinging a Hartzell 82 inch propeller. This engine is the most powerful six-cylinder engine Lycoming produces and is based upon the highly-successful IO-540 series

Production of the E350 commenced this month, and first deliveries begin in Q1 2009. Each aircraft is built to order with options including the new Garmin G600 glass panel and Forward Vision's EVS-100 forward looking infrared camera. The Expedition's rugged construction utilizes a steel tube frame with both carbon fiber and aluminum skins. All E350's come factory ready for installation on both Aerocet 3500L straight floats or Aerocet 3400 amphibious floats.

FMI: www.expeditionaircraft.com