NEWS
ARTICLE |
| Colombian
firm hopes Gavilan 358 will
challenge Cessna 206 for utility sales. Dave Higdon HOUSTON, Texas — Much was made of the type certificates that Lancair and Cirrus Design earned in late 1998 for the Columbia 300 and SR20. That there was actually something new under the sun was significant, the thinking correctly went. But despite press reports — including one in the Flyer — that hailed the Columbia 300 and SR20 as the first all-new designs to receive FAR Part 23 type certificates since the Piper Malibu in 1983, a Colombian company actually beat them to the punch by five months. Indeed, the FAA issued a Part 23 type certificate last May for the Gavilan 358, a cargo-carrying aircraft by a little-known South American firm called El Gavilan. Despite 12 years of development, El Gavilan has failed to generate the level of publicity and anticipation that Lancair and Cirrus Design achieved. Yes, the Colombian-built Gavilan 358 has a distinctly different market and mission than its fellow ground breakers of 1998. True to its utility-category type certificate, the 358 is a boxcar-looking single that was designed for bush operators, charter firms and small-cargo companies. An easy-flying bird, it has the capacity to carry up to eight passengers, just like Cessna’s recently revived 206 Stationair. With a 350-horsepower turbocharged Lycoming up front, the 358 can lift nearly its own empty weight, whether it’s set up to seat seven and a pilot, or a pilot and a couple of mini-vans worth of cargo. The Cirrus SR20 and Lancair Columbia 300, on the other hand, are sleek, four-place speedsters with not a hint of bush plane in their personalities. While Cirrus Design and Lancair are still waiting to begin deliveries, El Gavilan actually started delivering 358s shortly after receipt of its type certificate. As of late 1998, five Gavilan 358s were in the hands of the Colombian Air Force, all under Colombian production approval. Like Cirrus Design and Lancair, however, El Gavilan is still awaiting production certification from the FAA before it may begin making U.S. deliveries. To overcome that problem, according to El Gavilan Managing Director Eric Leaver, the company is looking for a firm that already has a production certificate and is willing to build 358s in the United States. “We feel that’s what it’s going to take to compete for the big U.S. market, as well as markets in Europe,” Leaver said during a recent visit to Houston. To keep the 358’s $365,000 price in check, El Gavilan would like to build major components at its factory in Bogota, where wages are good and the cost of living is lower than in the United States. Giving El Gavilan the benefit of the doubt — that is, assuming that a U.S. partner materializes and the paperwork and production deficits are resolved — the company still faces the challenge of marketing the big bird. After breaking the new-certificate barrier eight months ago, the Gavilan has lost whatever head start it had on Cessna’s revived 206 Stationair and T206 TurboStationair. In the interim, Cessna managed to certificate its 206 models in September, win production certification, and start deliveries in December when the Uruguayan Air Force took delivery of 10 Stationairs. Cessna’s formidable marketing machinery has had three years to build a backlog of several hundred 206 orders. At nearly 300 per year, that’s enough to sustain production well into 2001. That puts tremendous pressure on El Gavilan to find those operators whose missions could be better filled with the 358 than the 206. The 206 and 358 — both of which this writer flew this year — boast useful loads of around 1,700 pounds, despite a great difference in fuselage size. With nearly double the cabin volume, the 358 undoubtedly will win over some customers, particularly operators for which the 206’s superior speed means less than pure cubic capacity. With a cruise speed in the high 140-knot range, the 206 easily beats the 358, which motors along in a more sedate 120-knot neighborhood. Conversely, the 358 beats the 206 in the race for cabin space with a fuselage designed to haul building materials in the common four- by eight-foot dimensions. It even has an aft cargo door that is sized accordingly. The 358 also gives away nothing to the 206 in flying traits, and may even have the edge on the older Cessna design where handling is concerned. The Gavilan handles lightly but tightly. Roll forces were easy but not too light at our flying weight — about 400 pounds under the gross weight of about 4,100. The 206 slightly beats the Gavilan’s 1,800-foot takeoff performance over a 50-foot obstacle, but both stall easily and straight ahead at under 60. The question now is this: Will the 358 take off in the world market? Its $365,000 price for a fully equipped model seems right for a machine of its capabilities. It can lift more than three-quarters of a ton, or it can carry a half-ton, a crew of one and execute unsupported out-and-back missions of up to 600 miles in total distance. Still, with the 206 solidly in the market with similar overall performance and price tag, El Gavilan has its work cut out for it. For further information on the Gavilan 358, call Eric Leaver in Bogota, Colombia. From the United States, the numbers are 011-57-1-236-5699 or 011-57-1-256-0766. Article
published in Flyer Magazine, in which the Gavilan was featured
on the cover. |
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