By IAN ROSS
It is regarded as one of the most rugged and dependable light aircraft on the market. And despite a consumer downturn in the aviation industry, Found Aircraft believes its successful Bush Hawk design will keep the aircraft manufacturer flying amidst uncrowded skies for years to come.
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Andrew Hamblin, Found Aircraft's director of marketing and sales, says the company is considering producing a larger deHaviland Beaver or Otter aircraft, but is waiting for market conditions to improve. |
The 80-employee Parry Sound company has carved out a special niche for itself as the only dedicated manufacturer of bush planes in the world.
Andrew Hamblin, Found Aircraft's director of marketing and sales, scans the tarmac at their home base at Parry Sound Area Municipal Airport pointing out one bright yellow Bush Hawk-XP on floats that is destined for a Fairbanks, Alaska camp owner.
Others in various stages of construction are earmarked for customers in Thunder Bay, Toronto, Seattle and the West Coast.
Found occupies two hangars at the airport used for assembly and modifications, almost a stone's throw from the new Highway 69 alignment.
Well-known among veteran bush pilots and aviation enthusiasts, the resurrected Bush Hawk design has emerged from relative obscurity to challenge the popular Cessna 206.
In the early to mid 1960s, only 26 were ever built. But it gained a reputation as a backcountry workhorse on wheels, skis or floats.
The original brainchild of Nathan "Bud" Found, the company's reins was turned over to Andrew's father, Tony Hamblin in 2000.
Since reviving the company in 1996, Found adopted a gradual and methodical approach to growing the company; they will only build 12 planes this year, but they stay aggressive on the marketing end.
Their demonstrator aircraft has criss-crossed the continent a number of times, flying into air shows and remote bush camps from Florida to Alaska.
"We're not front-heavy in financing and we're not making the mistake of scaling up too quickly," says Hamblin.
About 60 per cent of their Bush Hawk-XP's wind up in the U.S., mostly in Alaska, although they have taken orders and inquiries from the Bahamas, Fiji and the West Coast.
Last fall, Found delivered its first U.S. registered Bush Hawk-XP to the United States Department of the Interior in Anchorage, Alaska with further discussions underway for another plane.
Their targetted customer base includes government agencies such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, fish and hunt camp operators, and the more affluent outdoorsmen.
"The U.S. is a virtually untapped market. They have little knowledge of the plane's history and characteristics," says Hamblin.
The Bush Hawk is a practical bush plane built to handle unpredictable northern climates and bumpy dirt airstrips, Hamblin says.
In designing and building the Bush Hawk, Bud Found sought out the advice of bush pilots.
No wing struts, no door sills and four doors allow for fuel drums and supplies to be easily rolled in or out of the aircraft on either side.
"This is like a pickup truck of the air. It's a beefy aircraft," says Hamblin. The Bush Hawk comes with either a 260 or 300 horsepower engine.
Though the plane has a slightly boxy appearance, that characteristic is not a concern for commercial pilots.
"It depends upon your tastes," says Hamblin. "Some people think it's ugly as sin, other people think it's good looking on the line. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
A one-piece cantilever wing tapers out toward the tips allowing for greater stability and speed than the old deHaviland Beaver.
At 8,000 feet, the Bush Hawk cruises at 130 knots (about150 mph). Compared to the 1960's design, Hamblin says today's Bush Hawk has 20 per cent more horsepower, carries 50 per cent more cargo
and is a lighter aircraft with greater fuel capacity and range of 800 nautical miles.
To entice Found to come to town, the Parry Sound Area Community and Business Development Centre put together an incentive package, which involved the Town of Parry Sound and Seguin
Township each contributing $150,000 to the airport commission to build a new hangar.
Though the deal caused some initial grumbling among local politicians and residents for subsidizing a private company, no one is complaining now.
"We've created jobs," says Hamblin. "We're training local individuals and we're making a world-class product that's being acknowledged in some of the bigger aviation magazines this year."
A downturn in the North American economy caused Found to scale back production slightly in mid-May and lay off 24 employees, more than a quarter of its workforce. It has further delayed their expansion plans of adding a 3,000-square-foot storage space. But Hamblin says those employees will likely be rehired this fall.
"The market is very tough right now. There are a lot of used aircraft on the market. Prices have gone down and customers are not able to sell aircraft because of the soft market."
With so much consumer uncertainty, many are putting off any hefty capital purchases. In occupying a unique corner of the aircraft industry, Found is tempted to produce a version of the larger deHaviland
Beaver or Otter aircraft, which have been out of production for years.
