27 June 2017
Giotto Castelli, designer of the e-Go aircraft, has bought the assets of the company which closed last year after producing a prototype and one production aircraft.
The e-Go is a single-seat deregulated aircraft (SSDR) that has won acclaim for its innovative design, handling and performance. However, it carried a high price tag which deterred potential buyers.
Giotto Castelli, designer of the e-Go SSDR, has bought the assets of the company and hopes to restart production in the future.
e-Go aeroplanes will form part of Castelli’s GioCAS aeronautical engineering consultancy. Castelli is currently working through ways of reducing production costs of the aircraft which may require some re-engineering. He is also looking at power units with the eventual aim of offering it with an electric motor.
From FLYER 2016: Cash crisis forces e-Go to lay off staff
2 comments
I wish him the very best of luck but the original price tag was far too high to attract any buyers. Keith Dennison gave some awe-inspiring demonstrations of the prototype at AeroExpo, Sywell but a single seat touring aircraft will always be a small niche market. Making any profit will be exceedingly difficult. One essential truth – To make a small fortune in general aviation you had better start off with a big one….!!!
Hm, I don’t believe he could reduce production costs enough – every composite plane with too much carbon structure percentage, or any other pricey materials, built in western EU will be too pricey.
Next problem is, that canard concept could be problematic to fly for amateur recreational pilots. It flys nicely, so maybe e-go isn’t that kind of plane, so main issue is price, cause history shows few canard UL planes, that are builtable for much less money and seem safe too.