It’s really quite rare these days that a new airplane model makes it through the certification process without immediate, worldwide notice. And yet, with type certificates issued by both the FAA and Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in mid-May of this year and little said until this week, that seems to be exactly what the Airvan GA10 did.
The Airvan 10 isn’t your grandfather’s utility plane. It is—like its competitors—a high-wing, single-engine turboprop looking to inhabit the off-the-beaten-path utility transport sector successfully occupied by the likes of the Cessna Caravan and the Quest Kodiak. However, instead of a PT6, the GA10 makes use of a 450-shp Rolls-Royce that delivers what Mahindra Aerospace calls the best economy in its segment. It has seats for a pilot plus 9 passengers and a useful load of 2,300 pounds. With tanks topped up (153 gallons total), the plane can carry 1,400 pounds with a maximum range of 700 nm.
The Airvan 10 is manufactured by the Australian company GippsAero, a subsidiary of India-based Mahindra Aerospace. According to GippsAero CEO Keith Douglas, the company expects to begin deliveries of the Airvan 10 early next year.
Learn more at Mahindra Aerospace.
