Found FBA-2
| FBA-2 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Found Aircraft FBA-2C1 BushHawk | |
| Role | Cabin monoplane |
| National origin | Canada |
| Manufacturer | Found Aircraft |
| Designer | S.R. Found |
| First flight | 1960 |
| Status | Production completed |
| Number built | 68 |
| Developed from | Found FBA-1 |
| Variants | Found Centennial |
The Found FBA-2 is a 1960s Canadian four/five-seat cabin monoplane that was produced by Found Aircraft.
The Found FBA-2 is an all-metal development of the company's first design, the Found FBA-1. The prototype first flew on 11 August 1960. It is a high-wing monoplane with a fixed tricycle undercarriage. The production version was to be the Found FBA-2B but the aircraft was produced with a conventional tail-wheel landing gear as the Found FBA-2C. The first production FBA-2C first flew on 9 May 1962. It is powered by an Avco Lycoming O-540-A1D engine and had a slightly longer cabin and enlarged cabin doors than the prototype. Originally, float or ski landing gear was available through third parties, and later became a factory option. Production ended in 1965 to concentrate on building the newer and larger Centennial 100. Thirty-four had been built.
In 1996 the design was acquired by Found Aircraft Development who developed an improved model the FBA-2C2 Bush Hawk-XP. This model was certified by Transport Canada in March, 1999 and by the Federal Aviation Administration in March, 2000. This version was manufactured between 2000-2007, after which it was replaced by a new version of the same basic airframe designated the Expedition E350 and the Expedition E350XC.
The E350 is an evolutionary development of the basic FBA-2 aimed at the personal use market. The Expedition E350 was FAA type certified in December 2008. The aircraft can be equipped with four or five seats and has a full fuel payload in excess of 900 pounds. It has a range of 700 nmi (1,296 km) at a cruise speed of 156 kn (289 km/h) and is powered by a Lycoming IO-580 powerplant producing 315 hp (235 kW). The E350 has been designed with rugged landing gear for operating from unprepared surfaces and has STOL performance.
Pacific Aerospace acquired the E-350 program in early 2016 from Found Aircraft. In September 2016, the E-350 Expedition tooling was shipped to its Hamilton, New Zealand plant. Pacific Aerospace plans to relaunch production of the five-seat type in the first half of 2017. It is also planned to produce the E-350 in its joint venture plant in China with Beijing General Aviation Company. The joint venture will be known as Beijing Pan-Pacific Aerospace Technology.
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