The Found FBA-2 is a 1960s

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

four/five-seat cabin

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 con ...

that was produced by Found Aircraft.

Design and development

The Found FBA-2 is an all-metal development of the company's first design, the Found FBA-1. The prototype first flew on 11 August 1960. It is a high-wing monoplane with a fixed tricycle undercarriage. The production version was to be the Found FBA-2B but the aircraft was produced with a conventional tail-wheel landing gear as the Found FBA-2C. The first production FBA-2C first flew on 9 May 1962. It is powered by an Avco Lycoming O-540-A1D engine and had a slightly longer cabin and enlarged cabin doors than the prototype. Originally, float or ski landing gear was available through third parties, and later became a factory option. Production ended in 1965 to concentrate on building the newer and larger Centennial 100. Thirty-four had been built.

Bush Hawk-XP

In 1996 the design was acquired by Found Aircraft Development who developed an improved model the FBA-2C2 Bush Hawk-XP. This model was certified by

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transporta ...

in March, 1999 and by 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 ...

in March, 2000. This version was manufactured between 2000-2007, after which it was replaced by a new version of the same basic airframe designated the Expedition E350 and the Expedition E350XC.

Expedition E350

The E350 is an evolutionary development of the basic FBA-2 aimed at the personal use market. The Expedition E350 was

FAA 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 ...

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 ...

in December 2008. The aircraft can be equipped with four or five seats and has a full fuel payload in excess of 900 pounds. It has a range of at a cruise speed of and is powered by a Lycoming IO-580 powerplant producing . The E350 has been designed with rugged landing gear for operating from unprepared surfaces and has STOL performance. Pacific Aerospace acquired the E-350 program in early 2016 from Found Aircraft. In September 2016, the E-350 Expedition tooling was shipped to its

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton ( mi, Kirikiriroa) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's ...

plant. Pacific Aerospace planned to relaunch production of the five-seat type in the first half of 2017, but this date was not achieved. It is also planned to produce the E-350 in its joint venture plant in China with Beijing General Aviation Company. The joint venture will be known as Beijing Pan-Pacific Aerospace Technology.

Variants

;FBA-2 :Prototype, one built. ;FBA-2C :Initial production variant, 26 built. ;FBA-2C1 Bush Hawk 300 :Improved variant with a 300hp Lycoming IO-540L, one built. ;FBA-2C1 Bush Hawk XP :Production variant of the Bush Hawk 300, 31 built. ;FBA-2C2 Bush Hawk 300XP :Minor changes, 6 built. ;FBA-2C3 Expedition E350 :Tricycle landing gear first flown in 2006, 3 built. ;FBA-2C4 Expedition E350XC :Tail-wheel, one built. ;FBA-2D :Proposed variant powered by a 290hp Lycoming engine, not built.

Specifications (FBA-2C)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* ''The

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft The ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'' was a weekly partwork magazine by Aerospace Publishing (an imprint of Orbis Publishing) which was published in the United Kingdom (and sold in other countries too) during the early 1980s. The magazi ...

(Part Work 1982-1985)''. London: Orbis Publishing. * {{Aircraft manufactured in Canada 1960s Canadian civil utility aircraft High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1960