The seemingly moribund
Tiger Aircraft LLC, of Martinsburg, WV, has executed a sales
agreement with the newly chartered Tiger Aircraft Corporation of
Florida, transferring the rights to the AG-5B GA four seat
aircraft.
According to Tiger Aircraft's new owner, Network Hosts Inc., of
Fleming, Fl; a sales agreement was executed between them and
TALLC's Gene Criss, and signed on August 9th, 2006. Criss is the
authorized signatory for the "nearly bankrupt" former corporation
and pretty much sold the company to settle its unpaid debt.
Network Host's Chairman of the BoD, Samuel Miller, spoke
exclusively to ANN late Friday and confirmed the rumors of Tiger's
transition. Miller noted that while other entities once associated
with TALLC may elect to contest the sale, that the elder company
was virtually abandoned for the better part of a year, and that he
ultimately feels that the sales agreement that they have executed
with the company's authorized agent "should meet our legal
obligations."
Entrepreneur Miller is both a pilot and fan of the AG-5B
aircraft series... he sees the future market for the Tiger to be,
initially, anchored in the training market and its chief
competition to be aircraft like the Cessna 172. The future of the
aircraft, he believes, resides in a decent sales organization,
proper marketing, and a number of updates to the design to bring it
current with its competition, especially in regards to avionics, as
well as a manufacturing review to bring the costs of
production down to make the aircraft more competitive on the
aviation market.
Miller also adds that
he's open to doing what the design needs, to be truly viewed as a
legitimate contender in the GA market, including the installation
of a BRS, if his engineering staff feels it doable. "I'm going to
have my engineering team look it over (the BRS Emergency Airframe
Parachute System) and see what it will take."
The sale is not necessarily a done deal. The corporate makeup of
the original company has some intriguing twists and permutations,
including foreign interests, that apparently did not make the
investments necessary to keep the company functioning. It is
possible that they may contest the sale, and if so, one of the
caveats of the sales agreement provides for the
indemnification and legal defense of Gene Criss, in case it is
required.
The sale requires that no actual money change hands... for now.
What the sale does, however, is obligate TAC of Florida to take on
as much as $8.2 million of the real debt accumulated by TALLC
during its turbulent history. More info to follow...
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.25.24): Airport Rotating Beacon
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