Kolb Aircraft Company is an American aircraft manufacturer that produces kitplanes for amateur construction.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page E-20, 21. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Downey, Julia: ''1999 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 53. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Downey, Julia: ''2001 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 17, Number 12, December 2000, page 58. KitPlanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851Downey, Julia: ''2002 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 18, Number 12, December 2001, page 50. KitPlanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851Newby-Gonzalez, Tori: ''Kit Aircraft Directory 2004'', Kitplanes, Volume 20, Number 12, December 2003, page 70. Aviation Publishing Group. ISSN 0891-1851

History

Homer Kolb first flew his initial commercial design, the Kolb Flyer, in 1970. The aircraft was ahead of its time and so Kolb waited until the ultralight aircraft boom of 1980 to incorporate his company, ''The Kolb Aircraft Company''. Initially located in

Phoenixville, Pennsylvania Phoenixville is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Philadelphia at the junction of French Creek and the Schuylkill River. It is in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The population is 18,616 ...

the company marketed a wide range of kit aircraft and achieved considerable commercial success, delivering over 3000 aircraft. In 1999 the company was sold to a group of investors, moved to

London, Kentucky London is a home rule-class city in Laurel County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 7,993 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the second-largest city named "London" in the United States and the ...

and renamed ''The New Kolb Aircraft Company''. The new company introduced a

powered parachute A powered parachute, often abbreviated PPC, and also called a motorized parachute or paraplane, is a type of aircraft that consists of a parafoil with a motor and wheels. The FAA defines a powered parachute as ''a powered aircraft a flexible o ...

model for a short time, the

Kolb Flyer Powered Parachute The Kolb Flyer Powered Parachute is an American powered parachute that was designed and produced by New Kolb Aircraft of London, Kentucky. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircr ...

.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 83. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X In 2003 New Kolb Aircraft introduced the Canadian-designed

Ultravia Pelican Sport 600 The Ultravia Pelican is the name given to two series of high-wing, single-engine, tractor configuration ultralight aircraft that were designed by Jean Rene Lepage and produced in kit form for amateur construction by Ultravia Aero International ...

into the US market in partnership with Ultravia Aero from Canada and Brazil's

Flyer Indústria Aeronáutica Flyer Indústria Aeronáutica Ltda is a Brazilian manufacturer of ultralight aircraft. History The company was founded in 1983 by Luiz Claudio Gonçalves, who worked together with Homer Kolb on the further development of the Kolb Flyer, the K ...

. When Ultravia went out of business in 2006 Kolb purchased Ultravia's assets, including the Pelican design. The company then improved and developed the Pelican into the

Kolb Flyer Super Sport The Ultravia Pelican is the name given to two series of high-wing, single-engine, tractor configuration ultralight aircraft that were designed by Jean Rene Lepage and produced in kit form for amateur construction by Ultravia Aero International ...

.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 84. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. In March 2012 the company was sold to Bryan Melborn and renamed ''Kolb Aircraft Company, LLC''.

Aircraft

References

External links

* {{Kolb Aircraft Aircraft manufacturers of the United States Companies based in London, Kentucky Manufacturing companies established in 1980 1980 establishments in Kentucky