The Comp Air 9 is 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 ...

, high-wing, cantilever

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

with

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

produced as a kit for amateur construction by

Comp Air Comp Air Inc, formerly known as Aerocomp Inc, is an aircraft manufacturer based in Merritt Island, Florida, owned by Ron Lueck.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', pages 97-100. BAI Communications, 1998. Downey, Julia: '' ...

.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2011 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 49. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', pages 92. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

Design and development

The aircraft is built from

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

and is powered by a

Honeywell TPE331 The Honeywell TPE331 (military designation: T76) is a turboprop engine. It was originally designed in the 1950s by Garrett AiResearch, and produced since 1999 by Honeywell Aerospace. The engine's power output ranges from . Design and developm ...

-10

powerplant of or similar engine.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 91. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X

Operational history

In 2011 there was one Comp Air 9 reported as having been completed. By August 2022, the US

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 ...

reported none registered. The factory prototype had been registered in 2008 and de-registered in 2018 as its registry had expired and was not renewed. It is possible that no examples of the type remain.

Accidents and incidents

*On 19 March 2016, a Comp Air 9 owned by Brazilian entrepreneur and former Vale SA CEO

Roger Agnelli Roger Agnelli (May 3, 1959 – March 19, 2016) was a Brazilian Investment banker, entrepreneur and corporate leader. He ran one of the largest mining companies in the world, Vale SA, and in 2013 was voted by Harvard Business Review as the world� ...

crashed shortly after takeoff from

Campo de Marte Airport Campo de Marte Airport is the first airport built in São Paulo, Brazil, opened in 1929. It is named after Champ de Mars, in Paris, which in turn got its name from Campus Martius, in Rome. During a transitional period, the airport is jointly o ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, and exploded on impact, killing all seven on board, including Agnelli and injuring one bystander on the ground. During the investigation of the crash, it was found that during the assembly process of the PR-ZRA, changes were incorporated to the original design that directly affected the take-off performance of the aircraft."Roger Agnelli, banker who built Vale into mining giant, 'dies in Brazil plane crash'"
''The Guardian''. Reuters. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.

Specifications (typical Comp Air 9)

References

External links

* 9 Homebuilt aircraft 1990s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined turboprop aircraft High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft {{Aero-1990s-stub