The Mahindra Airvan 8 (formerly the GippsAero GA8 Airvan 8) is a single-engined

utility aircraft A utility aircraft is a general-purpose light aircraft, light airplane or helicopter, usually used for transporting people, freight or other supplies, but is also used for other duties when more specialized aircraft are not required or available. ...

manufactured by

GippsAero GippsAero (formerly Gippsland Aeronautics) is an Australian aircraft manufacturer based at Latrobe Valley Airport in Morwell, Victoria. The company builds single-engined utility aircraft. These include the multi-role GA8 Airvan and the agricul ...

(formerly named Gippsland Aeronautics) of

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

. It can seat up to eight people, including the pilot. The GA8 has been designed for use in remote areas and from austere air strips, performing tasks such as passenger services, freight, sightseeing, parachuting, observation, and

intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing t ...

(ISR) and

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

operations. Its design emphasises ruggedness and ease of use. First flown on 3 March 1995 and

type certified 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 ...

under

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 ...

(FAA) Part 23 requirements during summer 2004, the GA8 has been flown by a diverse range of operators throughout the world. Since its introduction, improved models featuring more powerful engines have been introduced; an enlarged

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 derivative, designated as the

Gippsland GA10 The GippsAero GA10 Airvan, marketed as the Airvan 10, is a 10-seat, turbo prop, single-engined utility aircraft currently being developed by GippsAero (formerly Gippsland Aeronautics) of Victoria, Australia. Development Its 20-minute first f ...

, has also been developed. A

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

model of the GA8 has also been produced. At EAA Oshkosh 2014, the GA8 Airvan was officially renamed as Mahindra Airvan 8 as a reflection of GippsAero's recent acquisition by Indian conglomerate

Mahindra Group Mahindra Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai. The group has operations in over 100 countries, with a presence in aerospace, agribusiness, aftermarket automotive components, construction equipment, defenc ...

. The aircraft was produced in Australia; establishment of a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n final assembly line to produce the type was proposed at one time. In November 2020, the Indian conglomerate Mahindra, which had purchased the company, announced that production would cease at that time, citing the financial effects of the global economic slowdown due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Development

According to aviation publication ''Flying'', the aircraft was designed to fill a market niche perceived by the manufacturer between the six-seat

Cessna 206 The Cessna 205, 206, and 207, known primarily as the Stationair (and marketed variously as the Super Skywagon, Skywagon and Super Skylane) are a family of single-engined, general aviation aircraft with fixed landing gear, used in commercial air ...

and fourteen-seat

Cessna 208 Caravan The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA ...

models. The GA8's design was primarily produced by Peter Furlong. The aircraft was certified as conforming with the stringent Part 23 requirements of the

(FAA); accordingly, elements were subject to dynamic testing, as well as the controllability of the aircraft with the loss of any primary flight control validated.The GA8 received its

type certification 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 ...

in 2004. The GA8 has been used in various roles, including passenger services, freight, sightseeing, parachuting, observation, and

operations. It has been designed for use in remote areas and from austere air strips. A

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

version of the aircraft was in planning from 2002, and the prototype turbocharged aircraft commenced flight testing in October 2006. In February 2009, Gippsland Aeronautics announced that the Australian

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 ...

had issued an amendment to the GA8 type certificate to cover the turbocharged variant. This version is designated as the GA8-TC320 and is powered by a 320 HP Lycoming TIO-540-AH1A turbocharged fuel-injected engine. The first deliveries of this model took place in February 2009; within two years, numerous GA8-TC320 Airvans had been delivered to customers in Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. A

derivative of the GA8, the GA10, is also being developed. It is a slightly stretched 10-seat capacity aircraft powered by a Rolls-Royce 250-B17F/2 turboprop engine. It is planned for the GA10 to retain as many common parts with the GA8 as possible. During 2005, a

model of the GA8 underwent evaluation. In 2011, the company announced that it was preparing to put the float-equipped model of the GA8 into production in partnership with American aviation float manufacturer

Wipaire Wipaire is a third-generation family-owned American aircraft manufacturing and repair company, best known for its aircraft floats. History The company was founded shortly after World War II by Ben Wiplinger, a veteran of the United States Army A ...

. In December 2010, a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) was issued to the manufacturer for a 200 lb. increase in

MTOW The maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) or maximum gross takeoff weight (MGTOW) or maximum takeoff mass (MTOM) of an aircraft is the maximum weight at which the pilot is allowed to attempt to take off, due to structural or other limits. The analogous ...

. In September 2012, the company announced that Soloy Aviation Solutions had been appointed as a GA8 component distributor for the US market. During November 2012, West Coast Aviation Services was appointed as an authorised dealer of the aircraft itself. In January 2013, a second US company, Summit Aviation, became an authorised dealer of the GA8 in the US market; Sumit reportedly planned to focus on government and surveillance aircraft sales. At EAA Oshkosh 2014, the GA8 Airvan was renamed Mahindra Airvan 8; this rebranding is a reflection of GippsAero's recent acquisition by Indian conglomerate

. At the event, a company spokesperson announced that plans were underway to establish a new assembly line to produce the aircraft in

. Mahindra has also undertaken substantial investments into its Australian facilities for the purpose of expanding its production capacity.

Design

The Mahindra Airvan 8 is an eight-seat

designed for operations in the Australian

Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

. The GA8 is powered by a single

Lycoming IO-540 The Lycoming O-540 is a family of air-cooled six-cylinder, horizontally opposed fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter engines of displacement, manufactured by Lycoming Engines. The engine is a six-cylinder version of the four-cylinder Lycoming ...

piston engine, replaced by a Rolls-Royce 250-B17F/2 turboprop in its GA10 derivative. It can take off within , and can operate from a air strip under average conditions.

Aviation International News Aviation International News (AIN Publications / The Convention News Company) is a periodical and newspaper publisher about aviation, published through its web site and in hard copy. History The Convention News Company was founded by aviation e ...

has described its handling as forgiving, responsible, and akin to smaller aircraft. The aircraft has a configuration similar to the

, with a rectangular fuselage. In standard seating, each passenger has a rectangular window bulged outwards to improve the downwards view. The

high wing 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 ...

aft of the pilot improves its visibility, notably upwards. It has an aisle between the seats unlike other

bush plane A bush airplane is a general aviation aircraft used to provide both scheduled and unscheduled passenger and flight services to remote, undeveloped areas, such as the Canadian north or bush, Alaskan tundra, the African bush, or savanna, Amazon ra ...

s, cabin ventilation is evenly distributed, and upholstery is

modular Broadly speaking, modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use. The concept of modularity is used primarily to reduce complexity by breaking a sy ...

for rapid replacement. It has been designed to ease maintenance with minimal tooling and maximised accessibility. The cabin rear door can be opened mid-flight. Dedicated configurations are available for

skydiving Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

, freight and

(ISR) missions. It can carry up to within an optional cargo pod, accessible through a side-door and rear-mounted hatch. For ISR missions, multiple sensors can be contained in a modular pod, such as a

Wescam L3Harris Wescam, stylized as L3Harris WESCAM, is a Canadian company specializing in the production of gyroscope, gyro-stabilized, Image sensor, EO-Thermography, IR imaging systems. Wescam Inc. is a subsidiary of L3Harris Technologies. The name ...

-supplied surveillance camera; the sensors can be retractable to appear as an ordinary cargo pod. Mission

workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. The term ''workstat ...

s can be secured upon the standard seat mounts for three operators in a standard ISR configuration. The airframe and onboard systems are designed for durability and simplicity. The spring suspended tricycle

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

is oil-free; no fuel selectors have to be managed with the 92.2 gallon (349 liters) wing tanks feeding a single sump tank under the cabin floor. The simple wing has mechanically actuated flaps. The wings are rated for 92,000 hours; the lowest lifetime structural fitting, the aft vertical stabilizer fitting, have to be replaced at 15,000 hours. Avionics include a Garmin G500

multi-function display A multifunction display (MFD) is a small-screen ( CRT or LCD) surrounded by multiple soft keys (configurable buttons) that can be used to display information to the user in numerous configurable ways. MFDs originated in aviation, first in mil ...

, Garmin GTN750 and 650 touchscreen satellite navigation units, and backup analog instruments.

Variants

;GA8 :Production version with a Textron Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 engine. ; :Variant with a Textron Lycoming TIO-540-AH1A engine.

Operators

Air Fraser Island Gippsland GA-8 Airvan on Eurong Beach

228 Airvan 8s were in service as of July 2019.

Civil

The GA8 is popular with air charter companies, skydiving operators and small feeder air carriers. Larger operators include the

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...

(CAP) which flies 18 Airvans for

operations. They are also used in CAP for long range disaster response and relief as well as airborne damage assessment missions.

Mission Aviation Fellowship Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is a Christian organization that provides aviation, communications, and learning technology services to more than 1,000 Christian and humanitarian agencies, as well as thousands of isolated missionaries and indi ...

Australia operates 11 Airvans, providing air-transport services in developing countries. Mission Aviation Fellowship Suriname operates three Airvans. Operators include the following: * Air Fraser Island, Australia * Air Kimberley, Australia * True South Flights, New Zealand *

Glenorchy Air Glenorchy Air is a scenic flight and air charter company based at Queenstown Airport, New Zealand. The company was founded by Janet and Robert Rutherford in 1992, with just one aeroplane, a Cessna 185. With the expansion of the business, a seco ...

, New Zealand *

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enfor ...

* Circle Air, Iceland *

Golden Bay Air Golden Bay Air Limited is a small airline based at Tākaka Aerodrome in Tākaka, New Zealand. The airline currently operates three light aircraft from Tākaka to Wellington and Karamea, and also from Nelson to Tākaka and Karamea with connecting ...

, New Zealand

Military

; *

Lesotho Defence Force The Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) is the military of the Southern African Kingdom of Lesotho, which consists of about 2,000 personnel and is tasked with maintaining internal security, territorial integrity, and defending the constitution of Lesoth ...

Accidents and incidents

On 14 July 2019, a GA8 Airvan of Skydive Umeå crashed on the nearby island of Storsandskär, killing its nine occupants. Structural failure of a wing was suspected as a cause. The GA8 Airvan was grounded by the

(CASA) in Australia,

Civil Aviation Authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

in New Zealand, and the

European Aviation Safety Agency The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitorin ...

(EASA) in the European Union. The grounding order was issued on 20 July and was due to run until 3 August, but was lifted early as CASA found there is no evidence for an unsafe condition, and the EASA said the wrecked aircraft had been exposed to aerodynamic loads beyond certification.