Kevin Lancaster Updates American Yankee Association

By Gene Yarbrough

The American Yankee Association (AYA) held their annual meeting at the Honda Forums Pavilion 2 at Wittman Field on Tuesday. Kevin Lancaster, owner of Trueflight Aerospace, delivered an update on the progress, or lack thereof, on new Tiger manufacturing. Lancaster stated there has been an outpouring of support from the AYA and the feeling is mutual. He added that there is a strong brotherhood within the AYA for the Tiger type aircraft and he plans to support the entire existing fleet from the AA-1 to the AG5-B.

Kevin Lancaster

Lancaster purchased the type certificate along with tooling and inventory from the bankruptcy court handling the defunct Tiger Aircraft Company, located in West Virginia, two years ago. He then moved the entire operation to Valdosta, GA, his hometown. The move required some 30 semi loads to the temporary facility at the Valdosta airport. Recently the company has purchased a 50,000 sq ft manufacturing facility on 45 acres in Quitman, GA. Trueflight has renovated the interior to accommodate the Tiger production line and is currently moving and setting up inventory control, receiving and quality control inspection stations, and jigs and fixtures in anticipation of full production start up.

Lancaster displayed photos of the shiny reconditioned floor showing the first new fuselage resting in the production fixtures ready to move down the line. In acquiring the assets of the company Trueflight received approximately 2 million dollars worth of inventory. The company is setting up the parts department at this time and will have new parts available shortly. Lancaster said this means that the factory can now support the existing fleet with parts common to all models, about 80% of the current Tiger parts list. Lancaster assured that Trueflight would do everything in his power to support all models in the fleet, something the previous administration refused to do. Lancaster also commented when asked that he believes not supporting all models was a serious business mistake by the former owners.

Photo Courtesy Trueflight

In new developments, Lancaster announced that Trueflight has entered negotiations with Garmin on their new G500 panels, a new option reported to deliver essential flight and navigation information on split PFD and MFD displays as the G1000 but with less bells and whistles. Lancaster said this option has multifold benefits for the Tiger line. Along with reducing the cost of a Tiger some $30,000 to $40,000 than a similarly fitted Tiger with the G1000 system, the smaller platform of the G500 allows the aircraft to be fitted with traditional “steam gauges”. Having both glass panel and analog gauges is very desirable by flight schools according to Lancaster and is expected to boost sales. 

The Tiger is one of the few American aircraft with a Chinese Airworthiness Certificate. Combined with exponentially growing flight training needs of countries like China and India, Trueflight Aerospace is poised to exploit an area of business many manufacturers are just now trying to enter. Offering a base model aircraft for flight training may prove to be just the market to start off in these countries. With an extremely robust undercarriage, modular wing panels and a honeycomb panel fuselage the Tiger attacks flight training with durability, toughness, and low maintenance costs like its namesake.

Pricing on new Tigers starts at a projected $205,000 to $310,000 depending on options. Lancaster said the company wants to customize the plane to the customer’s desires. Stating that items like upholstery materials, interior colors, and paint schemes as well as avionics are all options he is willing to allow the customer to choose to help save money. Lancaster said he believes this approach allows the customer to have greater personal input in their aircraft and allows flexibility not available from manufacturers who only offer packages of options instead of full customization. Lancaster said he would even allow a customer to purchase a unit with out paint if desired, stating the aircraft would be delivered in white only. Lancaster alluded to other developments and upgrades in consideration but would not elaborate on specifics.

Lancaster opined about the downturn of the economy affecting his ability to get the company up and running more quickly than it has. However he stated that the company has enjoyed a certain dumb luck of the economy. Stating that the turn of events has proven helpful in the fact that he has not had to layoff a great many workers that would have been on the payroll otherwise. Lancaster said vendors that were previously too busy to take on new work are more willing to accommodate Trueflight’s needs in these lean times.

FMI: www.trueflightaerospace.com