Brumby Aircraft Australia is an Australian aircraft manufacturer that produces a range of kit- and ready-built civil light aircraft. The company is based at

Cowra Airport Cowra Airport is a small airport located west southwest of Cowra, New South Wales, Australia. The airport serves as the home to Brumby Aircraft Australia, a manufacturer of light sport and general aviation aircraft. Under a partnership deal ...

in the Central West of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and has also signed partnership agreements with

Aviation Industry Corporation of China Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

to manufacture

light sport aircraft A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a fairly new category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight (aka "microlight") aircraft, but LSA restrictio ...

in China for domestic markets.

History

Phil Goard designed and built an aircraft called the Goair Trainer at

Bankstown Airport Bankstown Airport is an airport and business park located in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, approximately from the Sydney Central Business District (CBD), Australia and west of Sydney Airport. It is situated on of land and has three paral ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

during the 1990s. The single aircraft was later modified in 2001 into the Goair GT-1, a prototype which would form the basis of the Model J544. In 2004, Goard relocated to Cowra and registered the company name Brumby Aircraft Australia. The first Model J544, known simply as the Brumby after a wild horse was registered under a

Recreational Aviation Australia Recreational Aviation Australia (abbreviated to RAA or RAAus), formerly known as the Australian Ultralight Federation (AUF), is the governing body for Ultralight aviation, ultralights in Australia. RAAus registers ultralight aircraft and issue ...

certificate in October 2005 and was publicly demonstrated in April 2006. In 2010, the company announced a high-wing variant of the design, designated the Brumby 610 Evolution. The J544 was retrospectively given the designation Brumby 600. In 2013 it was announced the company had purchased the

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...

for the

Victa Aircruiser __NOTOC__ The Victa Aircruiser was a 1960s Australian four-seat touring monoplane designed by Henry Millicer and built by Victa. Development Following the success of the earlier AESL Airtourer, Airtourer, Millicer designed a four-seat version whi ...

210, a four-seat

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

aeroplane designed in the 1960s, which never saw large scale production - although the design was later developed into the successful

PAC CT/4 Airtrainer The Pacific Aerospace Corporation CT/4 Airtrainer series is an all-metal-construction, single-engine, two-place with side-by-side seating, fully aerobatic, piston-engined, basic Trainer aircraft, training aircraft manufactured in Hamilton, New ...

. Brumby anticipate an updated version of this aircraft will compete with the

Cirrus SR22 The Cirrus SR22 is a single-engine four- or five-seat composite aircraft built from 2001 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota. It is a development of the Cirrus SR20, with a larger wing, higher fuel capacity, and a more powerful, 310-horsep ...

, while the company also announced plans to develop a

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

powered variant aimed at a niche business market with no established competitors. The Aircruiser also represents a significant step for the company beyond

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

and recreational aircraft as the design has certification by the

Civil Aviation Safety Authority The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is the Australian national authority for the regulation of civil aviation. Although distinct from the government, it reports to the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. CASA is responsibl ...

meeting the equivalent to the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

FAR 23 The Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs comprise Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). A wide variety ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. A major 40-year deal was signed in 2014 with the Chinese government owned AVIC to produce the Brumby 600 and 610 aircraft in a purpose-built facility in

Fujian Province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

. The facility will build the light sport aircraft for the Chinese domestic markets, while also providing components for assembly in the Australian market. The joint venture is expected to meet a demand for 280 aircraft over the first four years of the program, and will reduce the time taken to deliver new aircraft from 12 months to approximately 8 weeks. The Aircruiser design was not included in the deal, as Brumby intends to utilise the additional capacity at its Cowra facility to focus on development and production of this model In addition to production facilities, the agreement is also reported to include global sales and support, as well as Brumby's participation in the research and development of a new all-

composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

intended to carry 10-20 passengers, addressing a gap identified in the Chinese general aviation market.

Aircraft

* Brumby Aircruiser - A proposed development of the

announced in 2014. Single engine, four-seat business/touring aircraft to be offered in both piston and

versions. * Brumby 600 - Two-seat

available in factory built or amateur built kits. * Brumby 610 Evolution - High wing variant of the Brumby 600 designed specifically for flight training.

References

{{Brumby Aircraft Aircraft manufacturers of Australia Australian companies established in 2004