Three Contenders On The Horizon
With innovations looking to arrive within the next 12 months, 2020 could be an exciting year for new planes.
When the new year begins, we at Plane & Pilot look ahead to what news the coming 12 months will bring. This year we don’t even have to wait. A number of exciting new designs are on tap.
Epic E1000: From Epic Aircraft is the much anticipated E1000, a fast, slick, long-legged turboprop that aims to lower the entry-level price for pilots looking to get into the turbine game. The Pratt & Whitney-powered pressurized single is targeted to have a top cruise speed of better than 320 knots, a go-fast range of 1,385 nm and a full fuel payload of 1,100 pounds. At Oshkosh this year, Epic announced that it was ready to hand the E1000 over to FAA pilots for certification flight-testing. If all goes well, we should see the first E1000 in a customer’s hangar by the first half of 2020.
CubCrafters NX Cub: An offshoot of the Part 23 certificated X-Cub, the NX-Cub has a nosewheel. We know: Sacrilege! But CubCrafters’ new design is anything but a dumbed-down version of a taildragger. With a beefy-looking trailing link nosegear, the NX-Cub aims to take the rudder dance away from the bushplane experience. We’ll see how the market responds and if CubCrafters comes out with the product.
Daher TBM 940: The 940, like every TBM version before it, is the epitome of the fast single-engine pressurized turboprop. This year’s model boasts autothrottle and a host of other high-tech upgrades. It’s currently undergoing FAA flight test, so it’s possible this beauty might sneak into the “approved” column even before 2020.
