The Pegasus, created by Oaxaca Aerospace.
Mexico’s aerospace industry, experiencing an annual growth rate of more than 14%, is on a roll and a small company in Oaxaca wants to be part of it.
Oaxaca Aerospace has unveiled its prototype of an airplane completely designed and developed in Mexico, the Pegasus, a single-engine, two-seater plane that is agile, fast and inexpensive.
The father-and-son team of Raúl and Rodrigo Fernández began their project four years ago, developing what they describe as a completely different aircraft. A team of highly-qualified engineers has worked with them, using the latest computer software to design it.
“Most airplanes today are designs that were born in the 1950s, and they have only been modified in terms of avionics and engines that are more modern,” says Rodrigo Fernández, who is general manager of Oaxaca Aerospace. “There has not been any basic modification to make them more efficient and aerodynamic.”
The Pegasus is expected to have a range of 1,600 kilometers and a maximum speed of 400 km/h and fly at a maximum altitude of 16,000 feet. Its design makes it ideal for aerial surveillance, said Fernández, so potential clients are police services and armed forces. It could also serve for pilot training.
Although the Pegasus has not yet flown, the company hopes to build 12 of its planes in 2019, and sell them for US $550,000 each. Their principal challenge is financial: the Fernández have invested $3 million of their own money into the project, and assistance has also come from Conacyt, the National
Science and Technology Council, and the business accelerator TechBA. Collaborative help has come from the National Polytechnic Institute, which has been participating in runway trials.
Certification of the airplane is also something of a challenge because the Mexican authority, the Director General of Civil Aeronautics, has little experience in that process.
It is, after all, the first 100% Mexican plane, one that could well help propel the aerospace industry to greater heights.
Source: Milenio (sp)
The father-and-son team of Raúl and Rodrigo Fernández began their project four years ago, developing what they describe as a completely different aircraft. A team of highly-qualified engineers has worked with them, using the latest computer software to design it.
“Most airplanes today are designs that were born in the 1950s, and they have only been modified in terms of avionics and engines that are more modern,” says Rodrigo Fernández, who is general manager of Oaxaca Aerospace. “There has not been any basic modification to make them more efficient and aerodynamic.”
The Pegasus is expected to have a range of 1,600 kilometers and a maximum speed of 400 km/h and fly at a maximum altitude of 16,000 feet. Its design makes it ideal for aerial surveillance, said Fernández, so potential clients are police services and armed forces. It could also serve for pilot training.
Although the Pegasus has not yet flown, the company hopes to build 12 of its planes in 2019, and sell them for US $550,000 each. Their principal challenge is financial: the Fernández have invested $3 million of their own money into the project, and assistance has also come from Conacyt, the National
Science and Technology Council, and the business accelerator TechBA. Collaborative help has come from the National Polytechnic Institute, which has been participating in runway trials.
Certification of the airplane is also something of a challenge because the Mexican authority, the Director General of Civil Aeronautics, has little experience in that process.
It is, after all, the first 100% Mexican plane, one that could well help propel the aerospace industry to greater heights.
Source: Milenio (sp)
No comments:
Post a Comment