Epic Aircraft
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| Private | |
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Headquarters | Bend, Oregon |
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Key people
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Rick Schrameck (CEO 2004-2009) Doug King (CEO 2010-present) |
| Products | Private aircraft |
| Parent | Engineering LLC |
| Website | EpicAircraft.com |
Epic Aircraft is a general aviation aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Bend, Oregon that is owned by the Russian company Engineering LLC. The company is developing its first FAA certified model for sale.
Since 2004, Epic has manufactured and sold kits for high performance experimental models, notably the 1,200 hp (895 kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6 powered Epic LT. Following a reorganization in 2010, construction on airplanes was resumed and new orders were accepted. The company made the decision in 2013 to discontinue orders for the homebuilt kit after the 54th airframe was sold, to concentrate on certification of the E1000. The E1000 will be the certified version of the popular Epic LT, and certification is expected in mid 2016.
When the company was founded in 2004 it located in Bend, Oregon due to public incentives that were offered, including state loans and grants of US$1.3M. In return for the grants and loans Epic promised to create 4,000 jobs.
On 5 June 2009 Epic was sued by Blue Sky AvGroup, an Epic customer that had an aircraft under construction at the build center, alleging that Epic had failed to meet its contractual obligations. The case went to court in 2013 and ended "without an award of costs, disbursements or attorney’s fees to any party".
In late June 2009 the company dramatically scaled back its operations. The lay-offs primarily affected the aircraft build center, where customers worked on their own kits. Epic was subsequently named as plaintiff in July 2009 in a lawsuit against engine maker Williams International, claiming that the engine maker defaulted on a contract to supply engines for the Epic Victory program. On 8 August 2009 the company's premises were seized.
Several additional lawsuits were filed against Epic. These included "serious allegations about the conduct of company principals". In a sworn statement Chief Financial Officer David Clark said that Epic owed its customer builders an estimated US$15 million for parts and that the company had no money to pay those debts. Also in his sworn statement Clark alleged many financial irregularities and that company financial reports and practices "did not comply with generally accepted accounting practices". Other sworn statements by Clark and General Manager David Hice alleged that the company was a "chaotic financial environment over which CEO Rick Schrameck ruled exclusively". Hice further alleged many financial irregularities, including that the company missed its payroll in July 2004 and was only able to pay its staff using customer aircraft deposits from sales at AirVenture that same month. Hice also alleged that "On June 16th, 2009 I was terminated after Rick Schrameck physically attacked me."
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Wikipedia