Micro Craft Selected to Build FF-1080-200 Freight Feeder Aircraft

American Utilicraft has selected Micro Craft to build a prototype of a new freight feeder aircraft, the FF-1080-200, Utilicraft president and CEO John Dupont has disclosed. Utilicraft has a full scale mock-up of the FF-1080-200 fuselage on the static line at McCarran.

Micro Craft will build sub-assemblies such as the fuselage, wings and tails at its Huntsville, AL, facility. Final assembly will be at American Utilicraft's site at Gwinnett Airport located just north of Atlanta. Construction of the FF-1080-200 will begin in November with the first prototype scheduled to fly by December 1999. The pre-production prototype will be used as proof-of-concept and for FAA certification.

"We see this airplane as an F-27 replacement," Dupont said. "We don't have a competitor since the F-27 is out of production, and it can not carry the standard LD-3 container." He said the FF-1080-200 will carry six LD-3s 400 nmi with fuel reserves. He discounts comparison to the Ayres Loadmaster, noting the FF-1080-200 is about one-third larger and can carry two more LD-3s over a longer range.

"We have eight years of design study behind us," said Dupont. "This is a very simple design with zero technical risk. It has a 2312 wing. No composites. The engine is an off-the-shelf PW127F, which is flying on the ATR. The only innovation is the size and shape of the airplane."

Dupont explained the unpressurized, fixed-gear airplane will not be certificated to carry passengers. This approach to certification, according to Dupont, will keep costs low. "The price is not to exceed $7 million and it may be less."

For the Far East market, Dupont sees an FV-1080-200 carrying only four LD-3s, but over 1,500 nmi. Dupont also envisions an eventual family of aircraft including an FF-1080-500, which would be a 727 replacement. "We would scale the fuselage up and, like Dornier, use the same wing and tailplane. The engine would be something like the BR715." The -500 would be able to carry approximately 20 LD-3 containers.

Dupont said response to the concept has been enthusiastic and that financial backing is coming from "a major fund with billions." This unnamed fund will be placing orders and leasing the airplanes to operators. Dupont claims letters of intent for the first 50 aircraft. Customers were not disclosed.