OSHKOSH: Mahindra floats US assembly for rebranded Airvan
By: STEPHEN TRIMBLEMILWAUKEE Source: Flightglobal.com 13 hours ago
Mahindra Aerospace showed up at EAA Airventure with a new brand for the GA8 and GA10 Airvan utility aircraft, new amphibious floats and new interest in finding a US-based assembly site.
The GA-8 and GA-10 brands were inherited by Mahindra by its acquisition of Australia’s Gippsland Aeronautics. Mahindra has now dropped the GA designation, rebranding the single-engined pistons as the Airvan 8 and Airvan 10.
Mahindra has already delivered nearly 300 Airvan 8s from a factory in Australia. As the Airvan 10 nears certification later this year, Mahindra is considering a new manufacturing plan for the Airvan 8, says Arvind Mehra, executive director and global chief executive.
About 90% of the Airvan 8 are made in the USA, pre-assembled at a Mahindra facility in Seattle and then shipped to Australia for final assembly, so it would be possible to reduce the price by moving production to the USA.
“That’s our long-term strategy,” Mehra says.
Mehra adds that the location should be within an existing aviation cluster.
1. Mahindra is a majority shareholder, not the owner of what was GippslandAeronautics
2. I am not sure if a purchase is the same as an inheritance
3. GA 8 is not a brand, it is a model designation, as on the TCDS, Airvan is a brand name
4. It is possible that that 90% of the Airvan's materials and vendor items are imported from the USA, it has a US engine, prop and avionics and instruments and all the Alclad and fasteners are likely from the US as well, just like most aircraft regardless of where they are actually built. No aircraft unique components are manufactured outside Aus as far as i am aware.
5. The aircraft once they have been completely manufactured, assembled, completed and test flown at the factory at YLTV are knocked down for shipping. US customer aircraft are shipped to the USA and assembled in Washington state near Seattle for delivery to new owners. Not the other way round.
6. It would make sense to do some additional work in the USA which doeas not value add significantly with labour, but would decrease shipping costs, e.g. Insstall engine, prop and instruments in the US without sending them to Aus first.
7. Mahindra as majority owner has produced less than 100 aircraft since they assumed control of the company from Gippsland Aeronautics who produced the balance in their own right.
Shoddy journalism, misquotes and misunderstanding reported as hot info. Dont believe everything you read.
I have also done a factory tour and spoken with both the founders, and the Chief Designer. I have also toured Piper at Vero Beach with the Production Manager and Diamond with the owner. Diamond have their own cafeteria where you workers can have a beer at lunchtime, very civilized.
FAA is absolutely easier and quicker to deal with than CASA. there are many helpful individuals within CASA, but also some bloody minded, pig headed dills with a vastly inflated sense of self importance and an insistance that everything MUST be done to their interpretation of the Regs. One of those out balances 9 good guys. If GA now mahindra was a US based company they would have built THOUSANDS of Airvans by now.
Fantasic local product and great people deserve better.
Maybe Mr Mehra will give it a leg up. Lets hope so.
HD