The Epic LT is an American
kit-built single-engined
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 ...
aircraft intended for use by private pilots. The Epic Dynasty was the proposed
certified
Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
version of the LT that was intended be sold as a completed aircraft, prior to
Epic Aircraft
Epic Aircraft is a general aviation aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Bend, Oregon. The company produces the Epic E1000 GX single engine turboprop design.
Founded in 2004, the company initially manufactured and sold kits for the Epic LT.
...
's bankruptcy in August 2009 and later acquisition by new owners in April 2010.
Under ownership of the reorganized company, the certificated version is to be called the
E1000, with first deliveries initially scheduled for 2015, but delayed until 2019.
Development
![AIR Epic LT AN2316004](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/AIR_Epic_LT_AN2316004.jpg)
The LT was designed by
Epic Air LLC of
Bend, Oregon
Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U.S ...
, to meet demand for a kit-built high-performance single turboprop-engined six-seat private owner aircraft. It has a low-wing layout with the tailplanes mid-set on a single fin. The tricycle undercarriage is fully retractable. Its construction uses composites incorporating carbon fibres. The engine is a
Pratt & Whitney PT6-67A turboprop flat rated to 1200 hp.
The prototype LT first flew in 2004.
The prototype Dynasty, Epic LT number 14, had logged over 1000 hours of certification flight testing by 23 October 2006, but certification was not complete in June 2009, with the company reporting over 2000 test hours flown.
Flight testing of the prototype, registered C-FJRQ, was initially commenced in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, but the aircraft was removed from the Canadian register on 2 March 2007. It was moved back to Bend, Oregon, and re-registered as N6XK.
Sales stopped in 2012, to be replaced by the certificated
Epic E1000
The Epic E1000 is an American single-engine, six-seat, turboprop light aircraft developed by Epic Aircraft of Bend, Oregon.
The project's aim is that the E1000 will be the fastest single-engine civil aircraft at its time of introduction.
Desig ...
, and the 54th and final kit had secured its certificate of airworthiness in December 2018, before its early 2019 delivery to its owner.
It is the basis of the
China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Primus 150.
Operational history
![EM N700MM (3368940219)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/EM_N700MM_%283368940219%29.jpg)
Deliveries of LT kits commenced in 2006 with the first one completed that year
and the aircraft was demonstrated at the EAA show at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in July 2007.
Initially, the LT aircraft kits were completed by amateur builders under factory supervision in the factory at Bend but some later examples have been assembled at field locations, with assistance from Epic Aircraft.
On 7 July 2016, six Epic LT kit-built aircraft departed on a global circumnavigation flight, flown by owner-pilots. They departed from the
AirVenture
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, ...
2016 airshow, in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh.
History
Oshkosh was ...
.
Variants
;Epic LT
:Experimental homebuilt version
;
Epic E1000
The Epic E1000 is an American single-engine, six-seat, turboprop light aircraft developed by Epic Aircraft of Bend, Oregon.
The project's aim is that the E1000 will be the fastest single-engine civil aircraft at its time of introduction.
Desig ...
:Certified version planned for production in 2019 at a unit cost of $3.25 million
;
CAIGA Primus 150
The AVIC Leadair AG300, previously called Primus 150, built by the China Aviation Industry General Aircraft, is a development of the Epic LT aircraft built using the international rights to Epic Aircraft bought in bankruptcy in 2010. As part of ...
:
CAIGA International version
Accidents and incidents
A total of two Epic LT accidents have been reported by the US
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
.
On 31 March 2019, an Epic LT, registration RA-2151G, crashed in a field on approach to
Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport
Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport (german: Flugplatz Frankfurt-Egelsbach) is a general aviation airport located near Egelsbach, a town in the German state of Hesse. It is located southeast of Frankfurt Airport.
History
The airport was opened in 1 ...
in southwestern Germany at about 3:30 p.m. Russian
S7 Airlines
S7 Airlines, legally JSC Siberia Airlines (russian: АО «Авиакомпания "Сибирь"», "АО Aviakompania Sibir"), is an airline headquartered in Ob, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, with offices in Moscow. As of 2008, it was Russia's ...
co-owner
Natalia Fileva
Natalia Valerievna Fileva ( rus, Наталия Валерьевна Филёва; 27 November 1963 – 31 March 2019) was a Russian businesswoman and chairman of the board of directors of S7 Airlines. In 2018, ''Forbes'' listed her as the 4th ric ...
, one of Russia’s richest women, her father and the pilot died in the crash.
Specifications (LT/Dynasty)
See also
*
Extra EA-500
The Extra EA-500 is a six-seat single-engined high wing turboprop aircraft designed by the Extra Aircraft company. During 2015 a decision was made to end production.
Design and development
Started by Walter Extra, the company has been manufactu ...
*
Kestrel K-350
The Kestrel K-350 or Kestrel (previously the Kestrel JP10) is a high-performance, single engine turboprop, all-composite, six-seat aircraft.
The proof-of-concept (POC) first flew on 29 July 2006 and by April 2010, registered N352F, had logged ...
*
Pilatus PC-12
The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland, since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in ad ...
*
Piper Meridian
The Piper PA-46 Malibu and Matrix, now known as the M-Class, are a family of American light aircraft manufactured by Piper Aircraft of Vero Beach, Florida. The aircraft is powered by a single engine and has the capacity for one pilot and five ...
*
SOCATA TBM 900
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{Epic Aircraft
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
2000s United States civil utility aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Single-engined turboprop aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 2004