24 June 2008
Australian manufacturer Gippsland Aeronautics has bought the certification authority for the Nomad twin turboprop aircraft from Boeing Australia, and intends to produce the first new examples of the type since 1984.
The Australian-designed aircraft was created by the Australian Government Aircraft Factory in 1960s and the first prototype flew in 1971. There are said to be 54 examples of the type operational around the world.
The Australian Federal Minister for Trade, the Hon Simon Crean MP, said “The Nomad is an aircraft that is a part of Australia’s aviation history”. He added “What GA [Gippsland Aeronautics] has done is carry out independent research into the needs of a niche market. Through their research, they’ve identified a new potential source of export income that could deliver Australia an extra $700 million in export sales over the next decade”.
Gippsland Aeronautics Chairman Gary Wight said that Gippsland was looking forward to presenting the aircraft to the world market as the Next-Generation Nomad. “The versatile Nomad will complement our rugged GA8 Airvan multi-role utility aircraft.”
Gippsland already holds two letters of intent for the type.
