In a deal that provides VLJ manufacturer Epic Aviation with the ability to accelerate certification for its family of aircraft, Epic President and CEO Rick Schrameck, completed a new partnership with Indian billionaire Dr. Vijay Mallya, owner and operator of Indian airline Kingfisher, who said his strategic investment will “pave the way for the company to embark on an unprecedented growth trajectory.”
Schrameck said the new relationship has already yielded an Airbus consultancy on certification issues. Epic is in the advanced stages of flight testing the Dynasty, the 1200-hp, single-engine turboprop. The company recently unveiled two new very light jets, the twin-engine Elite and the single-engine Victory. The jets will begin their certification process immediately following certification of the Dynasty.
"Epic was really looking for a strategic partner, not just an investor," Schrameck explained. "Dr. Mallya now has a significant interest in our company, and we will immediately benefit from his relationships with a variety of companies, including Airbus and Pratt & Whitney.”
Dr. Mallya is also chair of United Breweries Group, a multinational conglomerate of more than 60 companies. The two partners have racing in common with Dr. Mallya having won races on the professional international car racing circuits. Schrameck holds records for wins in automobile racing and from the pylons at the Reno Air Races.

Surge in Sales
Epic has recently experienced an unprecedented surge in sales, booking more than $23 million worth of orders at the Sun 'n Fun fly-in April of this year, then selling another $40 million worth of aircraft only three months later at AirVenture in Oshkosh. Industry observers indicate Epic’s record at this year’s Sun ‘n Fun is likely the highest sales figure ever posted by an aircraft manufacturer during Sun ‘n Fun’s 30+ year history.
The contracts include non-refundable deposits and the company attributes the jump in sales to the introduction the Elite and Victory VLJs. Both of the new aircraft will come to market priced at less than a million dollars. The balance of the sales was distributed between the Epic LT and its soon-to-be-certified iteration, the 340 KTAS Epic Dynasty.
The carbon-composite airframe will seat up to eight people with a maximum cruise speed of 412 knots at 41,000 feet.

Elite Flight
TAM/AIR, a division of Epic Aircraft, had a flawless first flight of its new single-pilot, twin engine VLJ – the Elite – in June. In a flight lasting more than 40 minutes, the aircraft allowed test pilots Dave Morss and Len Fox to explore the aircraft’s control surfaces and low-level performance capabilities.
“What an amazingly wonderful airplane to fly!” said Schrameck. “It’s not often when an airplane actually flies better than we’d expected, but the Elite is one of those aircraft!”
The carbon-fiber Elite is powered by two Williams Jet FJ-33-4 engines which deliver 3,120 pounds of thrust. The new jet can reach FL410 in less than 17 minutes and boasts a top speed of 410 KTAS. Its range at economy cruise is more than 1,600 miles with reserves and 1,330 lbs. of usable payload after fuel. The state-of-the-art cockpit features the all-glass Garmin G900X panels and the Elite will be RVSM compliant.
The Epic Aircraft business model, calls for Elite Jet availability in 2007 as six- to seven-passenger owner-built aircraft. A six- to eight-passenger version of the jet is expected to be certified in late 2009.

Victory Lap
A mere six and a half months (202 days, or just 28 weeks) after design work began on a clean sheet of paper, the Epic Victory Jet made its maiden flight in July from the company’s base at Redmond, Oregon.
“In our research, we did not find any other company out there that can demonstrate this kind of focus and commitment to bring an aircraft from the proverbial drawing boards to reality in this length of time,” commented Epic CEO Rick Schrameck. “I’ve always said that Epic has the best engineers and manufacturing talent in the world, and I think this clearly proves it!”
He attributed the success to the quick response from the Seattle Manufacturing Inspection District Office and Portland Flight Standards District Office that allowed Epic to meet its jet flying on schedule.
The all-carbon-composite Victory Jet uses a single Williams International FJ-33-4A to climb to FL280 in just 10 minutes. Even with full fuel, the Victory offers more than 900 lbs of payload, accommodating four to five passengers and their luggage. The max cruise for this VLJ is in excess of 320 KTAS. The Victory jet also features an all-Garmin glass cockpit as part of an exclusive alliance with Garmin to provide the growing family of Epic aircraft with state-of-the-art glass cockpit instrumentation. Owner-built airplanes will feature the Garmin G900 avionics suite, while certified aircraft will sport the G1000.
Schrameck promises that the new Victory jets will be in the hands of customers before the end of this year.
“Pilots we’re talking to at these shows have actually done their homework and they see that these two new Epic jets actually deliver everything we all wanted the new VLJs to be — fast, modern and designed for single pilot operation,” Schrameck pointed out. Epic inked a new alliance with Pratt & Whitney through which owner-built Victory jets will have a PW615 turbofan, while the certified version of the single-engine Victory will upgrade to the more powerful PW617.