19 February 2016
Flight Design, the German aircraft company that makes the popular CT series of microlights and light sport aircraft, has gone into temporary receivership. Flight Design’s CTLS, pictured above, is the world’s best-selling light sport aircraft.
According to Flight Design’s management, the insolvency application became necessary after an international customer did not settle a bill of “over seven digit Euros”. This led the company into a liquidity squeeze. The management has sought alternative financing to bridge the time until receipt of outstanding payments but this has not been successful.
The interim receiver appointed by the court in Cottbus, Germany is Knut Rebholz of Mönning & Partner. Rebholz said, “The order situation of the company is good and the products have a very good international reputation in the market.”
In the coming weeks Rebholz sees as one of the most urgent tasks is to enable intensive negotiations to fund operations. “Only then is it possible to complete the remaining work and to hand over the remaining aircraft to the waiting customers.”
Figures released by the receiver show Flight Design recently had an annual turnover of about 11 million euros. In Germany, it has almost 20 employees, mostly highly skilled engineers and technicians, and about 100 workers in Ukraine. Since the company was founded in 1988, the company has delivered about 1,500 aircraft.
Earlier this month, Flight Design announced additional production facilities were being developed in Taiwan to help ease a production bottleneck created when Russian military forces invaded the Ukraine, close to where Flight Design has its factory. The company is also developing a four-seat aircraft, the C4.
