Evolution Aircraft

The Evolution Aircraft Company is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Redmond, Oregon. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of light aircraft in the form of kits for amateur construction.[1][2]

Evolution Aircraft Company
TypePrivately held company
IndustryAerospace
Founded2017
Headquarters
Redmond, Oregon
,
United States
Key people
President: Kevin Eldredge (until Oct 2017)
Bob Wolstenholme (from Oct 2017)
ProductsLight aircraft
Websitewww.evolutionaircraft.com

Bob Wolstenholme is the president and CEO of Evolution Aircraft.[3]

History

In July 2016 Lancair announced it would sell off the older Lancair lines of aircraft to concentrate on the Lancair Evolution instead. Eldredge, who was Lancair's Director of Business Development, indicated that at one time Lancair's products had been unique in the market, but only the Evolution design now occupied that customer niche and thus it made sense to concentrate on that aircraft type. He stated, "there is nothing in the market that can compete with the Evolution" and "unless something drastically changes with the market, after the first of the year, we will be ramping up to one every two weeks." The company had been making 10% of its revenue from supporting the older, out of production designs with parts.[1][2][4][5]

Due to the complexity of the Evolution aircraft design, it is not a traditional kit aircraft, that is normally built in a garage. Instead, the kit was designed to be built in professional facilities that assist the amateur builder, including the factory facility and commercial aircraft shops. This focus on using available space at the factory for builder assistance, plus lower sales of the older models, meant there was a good business case for selling off the older designs and freeing space for Evolution completions.[6]

In February 2017 the assets, including the intellectual property for the older designs, were sold to Mark and Conrad Huffstutler, who moved the production of those models to Uvalde, Texas and now operate the company as Lancair International, LLC. With the sale of the older aircraft lines, Lancair changed its name to Evolution Aircraft and remained in its existing Redmond facility.[1][2][7][8][9]

The company issued a statement on 5 October 2017 indicting that they were going through a restructuring and had laid off 22 of its 49 employees on 3 October 2017. Company president and CEO Kevin Eldredge resigned and Bob Wolstenholme assumed that role.[3] The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association reported on 19 October 2017 that the company was apparently out of business, citing inability to obtain product liability insurance following a fatal accident.[10] On 20 October 2017 Aero News Network (ANN) reported that the company was not answering customer or media inquires and that "its future is cloudy".[11] That same day local radio station KBND reported that the company was still in business, seeking a buyer and that AOPA's report that it had closed was incorrect.[12] On 26 October 2017 ANN reported that the company was "for sale. And while reports last week of the company being closed appeared to be premature, the kit maker is certainly struggling" and seeking a buyer. ANN reported also that the company had been unable to obtain insurance due to high-profile accidents.[13] On 4 November 2017 the company indicated in an interview in The Bend Bulletin, that they were still in limited operations, "focused on fulfilling customer commitments" and were seeking investors.[14]

Products
Lancair Evolution

References
  1. Kauh, Elaine (29 July 2016). "Lancair To Sell Legacy Assets In Favor Of Evolution Series". AVweb. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  2. Grady, Mary (14 February 2017). "Lancair Brand Under New Ownership". AVweb. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  3. "Evolution Aircraft Company Re-organization Under Way". Evolution Aircraft. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  4. Scheer, Maxine (29 July 2016). "Lancair Announces Reorganization, Restructuring For 'Out Of Production' Aircraft". Aero News Network. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  5. Collins, Mike (28 July 2016). "Lancair Announces Restructuring - Many Assets For Sale; Evolution Continues In New Company". Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  6. Bergqvist, Pia (28 July 2016). "Lancair finds a new owner". Flying Magazine. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  7. "Lancair International Asset Sale Completed". Aero News Network. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  8. Calderwood, Dave (14 February 2017). "Lancair finds a new owner". Flyer UK. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  9. Kitplanes Staff (10 February 2017). "Lancair Sold!". Kitplanes. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  10. "Evolution Aircraft Co. appears to have shuttered". www.aopa.org. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  11. "Aero-News Update: Evolution Aircraft Has Gone Incommunicado - Aero-News Network". www.aero-news.net. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  12. KBND Radio. "Redmond Kit Plane Maker Seeks Buyer". kbnd.com. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  13. "Buyer Sought For Evolution Aircraft - Aero-News Network". www.aero-news.net. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  14. Ditzler, Joe (4 November 2017). "Evolution seeking buyers a month after layoffs". The Bulletin. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
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